That Smile Will Cost 51 Cents
by CookiesChip12
Summary: His ticket out of the orphanage was a wealthy man, and hope for a better future. Instead of a life he wanted for his younger brother, he was met with cruelty and discipline that not only effected his future, but the way he looked at his past. One person stood beside him throughout this, and that's the person who'd do anything to see him smile once more, no matter what the cost.
1. Chapter 1

Title: That Smile Will Cost 51 Cents

Summary: His ticket out of the orphanage was a wealthy man, and hope for a better future. Instead of the life he wanted for his younger brother, he was met with cruelty and discipline that not only affected his future, but the way he looked at his past. One person stood with him throughout this, and that's the one person who would do anything to see him smile once more, no matter what the cost.

Warnings: Nothing beyond K+, a little violence in later chapters, but not much

Enjoy!

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **Chapter One: Seven Cents**

 **o-O-o**

 **November 25, 1995**

 **Domino City, 17:08**

When 5-year-old Seto saw his mother and father sitting at the kitchen table, smiling, grinning, laughing, and cheering, he knew something was up. Right at the moment, his head was peeking through the door to the kitchen, and he was picking up pieces of the puzzle.

"Mommy? Daddy?"

Both parents turned their attention to the youngest member of the family. His mother grinned. "Seto! Come here! We have some exciting news!"

He didn't need to be told twice. The young brunet had heard from many people that he was an obedient and smart child. His parents were never mad with him. He had manners, he was smart, and he listened to what he was told to do. His parents told him over and over again that they were proud of him.

Seto sat at the third chair at their brown wooden table, smiling brightly and looking excited. "What is it mommy?"

His mommy and daddy looked at each other, looking like they could burst open at any given moment. Seto's mom bit her lip, barely containing the urge to burst out with the news. "Seto, you're going to have a baby brother or sister!"

After a minute of letting the words process, Seto's eyes widened in shock and managed out a meek, "How?"

His dad laughed along with his mom. His mother came and held his hand in her warm, thin fingers. "In about nine months, you'll have a baby brother or sister! It's in my stomach, Seto!"

Seto's eyes widened, this time in panic. "You can't leave it in there for nine months! It's going to suffocate!" he tugged on his mother's sleeve desperately. "Quickly! Get it out!"

His mother laughed once again, and his father got up and started to put a pot of rice on the stove; Seto then noticed how late it actually was in the day. Turning back to his mother, he looked up at her expectantly.

"No, no Seto... It'll be fine. How about we talk more during dinner?" His mother asked, smiling brightly.

Seto grinned back at her, and nodded his head. "Alright, mommy!"

The five-year-old ran into their large living room, and plopped down on the sofa, playing with a hand-held video game. He had his mind set on other things now, though.

What would his baby brother or sister look like? Would it get his mother's chestnut hair, aqua colored eyes, that natural tanned skin? Or would it have his father's black hair, azure eyes, and pale skin? He smiled at the thought or having sibling. Would he be tiny, or really tall like he was?!

Nothing could hide his excitement. If anyone saw him right now, they'd see a grin that reached from one ear to the other and sapphire eyes that glowed with excitement.

A new brother or sister!

The news was the best he ever heard. Questions kept flowing through his mind.

He knew the baby would be perfect, now matter how it looked, acted or anything else. Seto just hoped he'd be the best big brother ever.

"Seto," his mother called from the door to the kitchen. "It's dinner time."

He got up smiling to himself, and hurriedly made his way to the kitchen almost tripping on the way. He sat down in his regular spot, looking at the food in front of him. His father had always been a good chef. He waited patiently for his parents to sit down before he ate.

Even after his mother and father sat down, he still couldn't focus on anything beyond the words 'Baby brother or sister'.

"We need to think of a name."

Seto turned his attention towards his dad, who had just spoke to him and his mother. "What was that, daddy?"

"We need to think of a name. For your new baby brother or sister." his dad smiled at him. "Got any ideas?"

His mother said the first name. "How about, Kaiyo, if it's a girl?"

Seto and his father smiled at the name. Seto spoke next. "Or how about, Mokuba, if it's a boy?"

Seto's father's eyebrows crinkled with confusion, "Where did the name 'Mokuba' come from?"

The young brunette shrugged. "I don't know. I just really like the sound of the name Mokuba.

His mother and father brightened at that name. "...Mokuba? I like that..." Seto's father nodded in agreement. Seto grinned brightly and started eating his dinner cheerfully.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **November 26, 1995**

 **Domino City Elementary School, 08:30**

The next day at school, he was excited to tell his friends of the good news.

Now, on the earlier comment about him being a polite, caring, and obedient child, he was also quite popular. He was considered a nerd by some people because he skipped 2 grades, loved math, and dressed more fancier than normal kids at the school, but overall, he was considered 'popular'. This was a high class school, and as far as he knew, they should all be like him. Responsible, obedient, smart, caring, and a whole bunch of words that could go on forever.

He was in the 2nd grade, shorter than everyone else because of it, got all A+ on his report cards, and had lots of friends.

As some of his friends walked up to him, he almost -almost!- squealed in excitement.

"Hey Seto!" One of his friends, Ronny, grinned at him. "What's up? You look like you could explode."

Seto bursted. "I get to have a baby brother or sister in nine months!"

Ronny's eyes widened before he shook his head in disbelief. "Seto! That's not good! If your parents are having another kid, then that means they'll forget about you!"

Seto's face dropped, but it was gone as soon as it came. "That's not true! My parents love me!'

"But," Ronny pointed a crooked finger. "They wont. My parents forget about me all the time becuase of my little sister. All they go on about is how cute she is and that they're so proud," He explained further.

Seto growled. "This matter is dropped, leave my family to me."

As responsible and smart as he is, he is also stubborn, has a large ego, and can lose his temper, but only if people agitate him to the point where he is flat-out annoyed. And if you talk to the people he's verbally attacked after they make him mad, you'd know not to get in his way. But really, when people make stupid remarks, how can he not retort back? People make him _that_ vexed.

He made a small, 'Hmph!' sound before walking to the front doors of the large school with his nose held high in the air.

Although he hates the comment that Ronny made, he couldn't help but dwell on it. What if they did forget him? What if they paid more attention to the new baby instead of him?

He collected his text books, and walked to his first class, math.

He sat down at his regular spot, beside a girl named, Satsuki. She was very annoying. She was hyper all the time, and he hated sitting beside her. At least in this class. He's lucky they switch classes every period. Most of the time, elementary schools wouldn't do that, but since they were a high-class school, they did.

When their teacher came in, he opened the textbook, and started on working through the questions.

But, for the first time since he can remember, he couldn't concentrate on his math.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **November 26, 1995**

 **Domino City Elementary School, 15:32**

Outside, Seto was waiting at the gate in front of his school. His mother was picking him up today, and he nearly dreaded the moment.

He didn't want to be near his parents. After what Ronny said, he was still thinking about it. If his parents noticed him acting weird they'd ask him about, then he would tell them, then they'd be mad at him for not liking his soon-to-be sibling.

Seto didn't want them to be mad at him. He wanted them to be happy. He wanted himself to be happy.

A familliar black car pulled up to the school gates, and he got in quickly to the backseat.

His mother smiled warmly at him as he got himself buckled up.. "Hello, Seto! How was your day?"

"Good."

She nodded and drived away from the school, back home. "Guess what? Today, we're going to pick out a room for the new baby! Want to help us?"

"No."

His mother instantly frowned at the less-than enthusiastic reply, and glanced worriedly at the rearview mirror.. "Seto, what's wrong?"

He sighed and looked distantly out the window. "Will you still love me?"

She was completely taken back by this comment and the confusion was written on her face. "What do you mean?"

"When the baby is born, will you still love me?" The brunet finally asked, scared of what the answer would be.

She then knew exactly what he was saying. "Seto!" his mother laughed gently. "Of course! I will love both of you equally! Do not worry, Seto, I can't put a favourite sign on any of my kids!"

A wave of relief washed over him, and he felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders. "Of course mommy, it was a silly question..."

She looked in the rearview mirror again and saw two wide blue eyes staring at her in an apologetic way. "It wasn't a silly question, Seto. Please, if you're upset please tell mommy or daddy, alright?"

Seto's mother got a nod of confirmation from her son. "So do you want to pick out the color of your new brother's or sister's bedroom?"

Seto grinned and nodded happily. "Aqua. Like your eyes."

His mother pulled up to the driveway of their big white house. She picked him up out of the car despite his light protest. "Lovely choice, Seto."

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **December 24, 1995**

 **Domino City, 18:48**

There was a bump.

Seto could now see a bump where his mother's stomach was. Frankly, he was still pretty concerned about the baby suffocating in there, but he knew better than to argue and left it alone. Besides, it was Christmas eve and he was wrapping presents for his mom and dad.

After Seto collected up enough allowance from doing chores, he 'secretly' got his mom a blue sapphire and silver locket, on sale. He got his dad a package of coffee. It sounds totally unfair considering what he got his mother, but that's what he heard his dad complain about all the time after work. Not having a decent cup of coffee in the morning, Seto found out, was a problem for adults. Whenever he asked, they'd laugh it off gently, telling him he'd understand when he got older.

He just packaged both presents, and creeped down the stairs, hurriedly putting his presents for both his parents under the Christmas tree.

Anyways, his mother had a bump on her stomach. It was small, but noticeable. People were also calling his parents wishing them good times and sending over presents for the baby. Seto remembered something like this happening when he was a couple months old. People would visit him, and bring him blankets, toys, foods, and other baby stuff. He's been told he has an eidetic memory.

His current thoughts got washed away when his parents walked into the living room together. His mom was carrying a tray of small European chocolates, homemade cookies, and two glasses of milk.

Another fact about Seto. He had a major sweet tooth. For chocolate. Especially chocolate. He hated chocolate that was fake. He loved European styled chocolate, namely German ones. Seto ate healthy, but when he got chances like these, he savoured every last bite of them. Of course, he wasn't a pig either.

"So, are you excited, Seto?" His father asked smiling at him. Seto nodded for confirmation, but kept his attention towards the chocolates on the tray. Oh, Raspberry... and dark chocolate...

Seto felt something placed on his head. He turned around to see his mom grinning. "Sorry Seto!" she giggled and snuck her arms around her son's waist. "But you look so adorable when you wear a Christmas hat!"

Seto smiled back and never bothered taking the hat off.

He spotted another chocolate.

Hehe, mocha...

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **January 17, 1996**

 **Domino City, 19:23**

Seto was left with a babysitter a lot now. His mother and father both explained to him that they needed to got to the doctor's office to check if the baby was healthy. He didn't really get everything they explained to him, but accepted the fact anyways.

After the new years, the bump on his mother's stomach got bigger. She also wore the necklace he got her, while father stopped complaining about coffee.

He had also got various toys, clothing, video games and other stuff that was high-quality. Seto hated to brag, but he definetely wouldn't call his family... not poor, per say, but he would say he was definitely luckier than most families in Domino.

Now, his family didn't live in a mansion, but his house was big, his dad was a the head of the biggest medical center in Domino, and his mother was a Lawyer, the best one in Domino. She usually wasn't unfair with her cases, and often was very generous and kind to other people. Her warm heart always got the best of people, and her persuasive aditude always made her win. It was everything you wouldn't expect in a lawyer, but everything you'd want.

Him, he was considered a child genius. Seto had qualified to skip another grade because the principle of his school said that he was learning nothing in class, and needed more of a challenge. He was also sended into a program called 'Gifted', which allowed him to take time out of class time, to see if he was qualified to skip another grade.

As it was looking, come February, he'll be in the 4th grade.

When his mother and father came home from their doctor's appointment each day, or night, they welcomed him with hugs and 'We're so sorry Seto! It must get boring here!'

He smiled at them, and just told them that he'd be okay. He had plenty of toys from Christmas, and after the New Years, he was pretty caught up in school.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **February 13, 1996**

 **Domino City, 15:57**

There was another appointment.

Seto got very concerned about the baby suffocating, and even brought the subject up with his mother. She laughed warmly at him, and told him the baby would be okay and that he shouldn't worry.

His reason for worrying? The bump was ginormous.

He thought for sure, they baby was struggling to get out, and he was really nervous that when the baby was born, it wouldn't be breathing, and if it wasn't, he blamed his mother for not listening to him earlier.

Anyways, his mother stopped working now (she explained it was called 'maternity leave'), because she wanted to take care of Seto, but he also heard from eavesdropping, that his mother was finding it a bit painful to walk, or even do everyday household things.

While his mother took time off, she taught him how to play chess.

His mother got a special Onyx chessboard especially for him. They played for hours, before his dad came home from work. Of course when Seto was at school, he never had time to play chess with his mom. That's why he grew to love weekends, something he used to dread.

Right at the moment, it was a Saturday, and he was playing chess against his mother.

He was white, which meant he goes first. He made his first move by moving one of his pawns forward two. His mother then moved the pawn in front of her queen one space forward. Seto moved his bishop on the white squares, up diagonally one to where he moved his pawn. His mother then moved the pawn in front of her knight forward two. Seto moved his bishop up four spaces.

"Check."

His mother's eyes widened and she looked down at the board, smiled, then smirked playfully; it was check. Thankfully not checkmate.

The game went on for about 45 more minutes before Seto had her in checkmate, surprising her and Seto himself.

From that night on, Seto decided he loved chess.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **March 27, 1996**

 **Domino City, 12:18**

Another weekend, a warm spring Sunday. He was still winning against his mother in chess, and they did more work on the baby's room.

His new brother's or sister's room had aqua walls (just like he requested), a tiny crib on the far right corner, a rocking horse near the end of the crib, a table for changing diapers, (Seto shuddered at the thought), a soft resting area on the window ledge with fluffy pillows and blankets, blue curtains and waxed wood flooring. There was also a closet full of necessities that would be needed in the near future, but the clothes had yet to be added. It was either gender friendly.

Seto had picked mostly everything out, and knew in the future, he would spoil this kid rotten.

Now, he was still concerned with the fact that this bump on his mother's stomach was growing considerably big, and he was sure the kid couldn't breathe. But he had given up on that, and only thought about it in his head.

His other concern... What was the baby eating? Being smart, you'd expect him to know these things, but nope. He had no idea. And it irked him badly.

Seto really wanted to ask his mom about what the baby was eating, but he couldn't find himself doing so. Everytime he couldn't help but worry about his new sibling, and

Questions enetered his mind with no restraint.

What if it isn't breathing?

What if it's starved right now?

Other than the fact that he'd be spoiling his new sibling when it was born, he also knew that he would protect it from the bad stuff in this world.

Bullies, bad guys, strangers, anyone his sibling wouldn't like, they'd get a piece of Seto first!

This new brother or sister would be something special, he knew from the start.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **April 24, 1996**

 **Domino City, 09:41**

It was a boy. The baby, they found out, was a boy. But they found something else out too. Something he didn't know, and it terrorized him to the very core.

Hearing his mommy's and daddy's voices this early in the morning, talking hurriedly, and with concerned voices, made Seto very unsettled.

He picked up a few pieces.

'Not healthy...what if it doesn't... we can't tell Seto... too late... now...'

It concerned him too.

That's why he marched right into the kitchen, startling his parents. Their reaction was quickly gone though, and they put on smile's. "Good morning, Seto!" his mother hugged him lightly.

"Mommy, daddy, what's wrong?"

His mother smiled while pulling out a fry pan. "Nothing, Seto." she took out some homemade bread, milk, vanilla, nutmeg, eggs, cinnamon and bacon. "So, want french toast and bacon for breakfast?"

He forcefully pushed all negative thoughts to the back of his mind with a great force, and nodded, somewhat not hungry after hearing all that.

His father grabbed the pan from her grasp and said, "Let me cook breakfast. Sit down and relax."

She rolled her eyes playfully at him, but sat down anyways. "I'm expecting a child. Not unusable hands."

Seto's father returned that by playfully making a 'hmph!' sound, and continued cooking breakfast.

The thoughts from a few minutes ago were pulled back to the front of his mind. What did they mean by, 'Not healthy?' It could mean anything... What if it had a headache? Or maybe it was sick with the flu...

Then it dawned on him.

Yep, he knew it! The baby was starved and was suffocating! That was it! He was about to tell his mom, but the thoughts got pushed aside yet again when his dad gave him a plate full of french toast and bacon, then repeated the action with himself. His mother muttered something along the lines of 'I want chocolate...', when Seto's dad set a smaller plate of food down for her.

He smiled and ate it up, forgetting everything that troubled him.

Life was good.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **May 20, 1996**

 **Domino City, 13:30**

Mommy's belly had grown into a huge bump... It wasn't the baby starving or suffocating that made him worry anymore.

His mother was in deep pain and Seto was concerned beyond belief.

About a month ago, they were talking about something like this. They were covering something up. Something bad. Seto wanted to know what it was, and they wouldn't let anything slip. This was done in private or when he was away, and his parents never let anything slip. Whenever his mom would play chess with him, or spend time reading with him, she would cover it up. The pains, the tense form, the uncomfortable shifting...

Most of the time he forgot about it. He didn't want to make himself dread over the fact...

Everything will be okay, right?

Right.

He needn't dread on things that would turn out good in the end anyways. His mommy was probably just a little sore from the baby in her stomach, or maybe she just needed to see a massager to smooth out her sore muscles.

At the minute, he was working on his math, but secretly listening to his mother complaining about her back being sore from the other room; and he could tell you, it was no easy task.

Okay, 4¾ + 6⅝ …. darn it, are these even real questions? Usually these would be so easy for him to answer, but he's so confused.

He heard another pained yelp from the other room, and winced from the high pitched sound. It sounded so agonized...

Poor mommy...

He shut his math book closed, and laid down on his bed, not caring that his homework wouldn't be done.

Seto felt the tears grow at the corners of his eyes and couldn't concentrate on anything else except one thought.

Will everything actually be alright?

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **June 9, 1996**

 **Domino City, 22:34**

Seto's been crying for days now.

Something was wrong.

A few nights back, mommy woke up with pains, and daddy brought her to the doctor. A babysitter showed up at the door a couple minutes later, with a fake smiled plastered on to her face.

She was a close friend of his mommy and daddy's, and he knew her very well. That didn't help when she'd walk into his room and try to comfort him.

He was worried sick, no joke.

Seto hadn't hardly touched his food, and had cried himself to sleep. He only slept for about 2 hours every night.

He knew it! He should have focused more 2 months ago when they were talking about mommy. That's what it was about, wasn't it. They knew! The worst part was that they never told him!

Although he was beyond furious, he refused to be mad at his mommy and daddy, especially at a time like this.

The next morning when he woke up, and after breakfast,mommy and daddy came home.

He wanted to go up and hug his mommy, but he refrained from it, afraid he would hurt her.

His mother beat him to it.

She bent down and wrapped her arms around him, pressing him into her chest.

"I'm so sorry Seto..." she stroked his hair, and whispered into his ear. "I'm so sorry. Mommy will make it up to you. Alright?"

He gripped on to her shirt, and buried his face into the crook of her neck. "Don't leave me again, please..."

She tightened her grip on him and shushed him. "Mommy won't leave, don't worry..."

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **July 1, 1996**

 **Domino City, 16:07**

It was about a week later. They had been fine all week. His mom was okay, they were playing together like they used to.

Everything was right again.

The small family was in their backyard. The space contained an orange tree that was very tall and the oranges were ripe. Underneath the tree was a round white table, and it was encased by 3 matching chairs. The centrepiece consisted of a vase with a white tulip. The smell of lilacs and oranges mixed in with each other from the bloomed lilac bushes and the fresh oranges waiting eagerly to be picked. There was a small pond too, and birds rested by it's side, picking small insects out. Seto could clearly see his house from where he hid from his dad.

They were all playing tag... Well, technically his mom was sitting out because Seto's father didn't want her straining her body.

So, he and his father were playing hide-and-seek. He was winning, of course. Another fact. He was competitive as ever. He will not give up without a long, hard fight. His mom and dad love him for that. Like everything else they loved him for.

"Boo," Seto squealed in surprise when he felt his body being grabbed and pulled away from the safety of the lilac bush. "Seto," his father poked him in the stomach, sending a ticklish feeling through his tiny body. "Want a sandwich?"

Seto nodded and ran up to his mommy while his daddy went to make sandwiches. His mother engulfed him in a light embrace, and he returned it happily.

"Mommy..." he asked shyly, playing with his thumbs. "Are you going to be alright? I mean a weak ago you were in the doctor's office, and you came home, and you were still in pain, and you-"

He got cut off by a tighter hug, and a light feathery voice being whispered into ear. "I'll be alright Seto. Remember I made a promise to you. I'll never leave you alone.."

She grabbed something that was tucked lightly into her shirt and pulled it out. It was the locket he got her. His mother opened it, and inside was a picture of his mom, dad, and him. The other side of the locket was blank.

Seto asked his mom, in a confused voice, "Why is the other side blank?"

"That will be the side you new baby brothers picture will go." she laughed gently. "Keep your little brother safe, alright?"

"Of course mommy. Why do you ask?" he stared deep into his mother aqua eyes.

"No reason." she grinned while looking past him. He looked behind him as well, and saw his dad coming with a tray of sandwiches.

His dad came over and sat down in the perfectly green grass, also setting the tray down. "Eat up, Seto. Before the bugs do."

Seto let out a slight chuckle before grabbing a sandwich off the tray. They all ate in silence for a while before his mother broke that silence.

"July 7th or July 13th."

Seto's head snapped up in confusion, and it was evident in his facial features. "What was that?"

"July 7th or July 13th. Those are the days that your brother is expected to born on."

He put it together. "So in, 7 or 12 days!" Seto giggled, reaching over his food and poking her belly lightly. "That's probably why your tummy is so big."

His mother and father shared a hug with him, while laughing.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **July 6, 1996**

 **Domino City, 12:59**

Tea was another thing Seto loved. It was really an accident.

The babysitter, gave him tea and he loved it. A side effect of it, was that he was bouncing off the walls from the caffeine. Literally. The babysitter still hasn't stopped apologizing for it, even after his mother and father laughed it off gently and forgiven her.

Anyways. Green tea, fresh squeezed lemon, china cup, brown sugar instead of white.

Seto's proffered drink. And it got more perfect when his family was sitting with him, telling jokes, sharing memories, and spending time together.

Absolutely perfect.

"So Seto," his father said grinning. "You excited?"

"About what?"

"Tomorrow."

He racked his brain to figure out what was tomorrow.

July 7th...

Oh...

Oh.

"The day the baby is supposed to be born." Seto smiled after he clued in.

His mother nodded. "Don't expect it though, it's an estimate, not a fact."

"I know."

"Good. Who do you think he'll look like?" His father asked him, sipping at his own coffee.

"What do you mean?" Seto asked.

"Well," His mother pointed to herself. "You have my hair. It's brown, but you have your father's eyes and skin."

Seto smiled to himself, inwardly, remembering when he thought the same question nine months back. "I don't know. But I hope he gets mommy's eyes."

His dad pretended to be offended. "Hey!"

Seto's mother laughed and so did he.

Tomorrow was the day...

July 7th...

The baby would be born.

They'd have another addition to their family.

Seto would have a baby brother to protect and love.

They would be a happy family.

The surprise tomorrow was not happy.

But sitting drinking tea, laughing together, telling corny jokes, cheering about what could come tomorrow, Seto didn't realize that this would be the last time spending time with his mother. Last time hearing her laugh, seeing her face. The very last time he would gaze into her eyes that held so much in them.

Because tomorrow they'd be one family member short.

And he didn't know.

* * *

 _"In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."_

 _-Abraham Lincoln_

* * *

A/N: Alright, thanks for reading peeps! I'm really excited about this, and hope you'll read my fic again! I am new to this, so sorry if characters were out of place. I have written other fanfiction's, just none for Yu-Gi-Oh! so I'm trying to get used to how everything works!

I also did my best with times. Apparently the first Duel Monsters game was made in 1998, but Konami kept it under their direction, until 2009. I choose 2008, though, subtracted 18 years from that, then added five, adding up to 1995, which going by this time, would mean Seto is five, and Mokuba will be born in that year.

The setting I guess is a bit of a mix between the Japanese version anime and the English, but the timeline is the same, just some details about their past will be mixed together a bit. I should be updating weekly now.

I'd pay attention to the times and dates I put before every scene too, because time will move around.

And finally, the name I mentioned, Kaiyo, means forgiveness in Japanese.


	2. Chapter 2

**o-O-o**

 **Chapter 2- Five Cents**

 **o-O-o**

 **July 7th, 1996**

 **Domino City, 23:32**

His mother was screaming. His dad was calming her down. An ambulance was coming to their house.

Seto was crying.

His dad and him were rushing to the hospital, without his mommy, and Seto didn't know why. After his mom woke up screaming, as mentioned with every other previous event, his dad and him were left to go to the hospital without being in the ambulance.

"Daddy," he sniffled. "What's wrong?"

His dad bit his lip and cursed a red light. "Nothing Seto. Everything will be alright."

After the light turned green, Seto was thankful for his seatbelt. His father was cursing every driver that got in the way of his driving, every stop he had to make, and other obstacles that stopped them.

When they finally did arrive at the hospital, his dad raced to the front desk and asked some questions in which he couldn't understand.

After that, he and his dad rushed to a room where outside he could hear his mother screaming, and a nurse was waiting outside.

"I can go in, right?" His father asked the nurse frantically. He wasn't one to disobey rules, especially in a hospital. After all, he was a doctor himself.

"Of course," the nurse whispered. "I can stay here with him."

"Thank you."

And with that, his father was gone, and Seto had no clue, what the heck was going on. The nurse was trying to comfort him by playing games and trying to get him to sleep.

He was left out there for hours, before it finally clued into him.

It was past midnight.

July 7th.

That day.

The day.

The baby was supposed to be born.

He cried himself to sleep that night.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **July 7th, 1996**

 **Domino City Hospital, 06:18**

He was being shook awake.

Seto opened his eyes, to see his father kneeling by him, with a bundle in his arms. Something was wrong though.

His dad's face.

His dad was crying.

He wasn't laughing, cheering, celebrating, no he was crying.

No.

Sobbing was more like it.

"Here Seto," His father's voice broke. "Your little brother Mokuba..."

Seto smiled briefly, while gathering the small child into his arms carefully. "So mommy and you picked the name Mokuba."

At this comment, his father sobbed more.

Seto's ghost of a smile left his face completely.

"What's wrong daddy?"

"Seto... your mother... mommy... she won't be here anymore."

"What?"

"Seto, mommy died."

Mommy died

...

Mommy died

...

Mommy died...

His whole world _shattered_.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **July 21, 1996**

 **Domino City Funeral Home, 17: 45**

Seto couldn't stand it.

A funeral.

 _A funeral._

For his _mom._

Mommy. His mother. Mum. Mom. His guardian. His protector. The one who taught him chess. The one who loved him dearly.

She promised.

 _She promised!_

 **"Mommy wont leave, don't worry."**

He could've done _something!_ Anything! He wished to go back in time. Tell his mom not to give birth to the baby. Not to be excited. Not to be cheerful.

This was not cheerful.

This was _not_ happy.

This was certainly not what he thought.

Here, at a funeral, leaning on his father's shoulder, silent tears streaming down his face, holding on to his only remainder of his mother.

Two weeks ago, when mommy was giving birth, giving away her last breath, she requested two things.

Give Seto her locket.

Call the baby Mokuba.

The locket was around his neck, while the baby was in his arms. Mokuba...

The baby, in his opinion, was magnificent.

Aqua eyes, tufts of black hair, and pink, cute chubby skin. He was adorable, cute, radiant, a whole bunch of words that Seto's tired brain couldn't come up with right at the moment.

He looked too much like his mother.

It was near the end of the funeral.

He refused to see his mother's, hollow, lifeless, soulless body one more time when offered. He'd rather keep all good memories, not that.

He didn't even want to be there. He was given a card explaining everything and some ways to... cope.

Now, when his mother was getting lowered, the brown wood coffin getting covered in dirt, did he finally cry openly.

In his father's shoulder, he sobbed.

He sobbed because, it wasn't fair!

It just wasn't _fair!_

His mother was ripped away from him.

Ripped away from the world.

Never again would Seto feel her warm hug, never again would his dad get to see her lovely face again, never again will the world see his mom win yet again another case that she had worked day and night for.

But most of all.

Mokuba would never meet her.

He knew it would be rough growing up without his mother.

But Seto swore to his mother and to himself, that he would always protect Mokuba.

He fell asleep resting against his father's shoulder.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **August 6, 1997**

 **Domino City, 13:54**

It's been over a year now.

Mokuba's a year old.

Mother's anniversary for her death was about a month ago.

Mokuba was walking.

Seto was currently playing with his younger brother. The one-year-old was stacking blocks with his older brother, and every time the tower got too high and collapsed, Mokuba squealed with happiness.

Seto now wore the necklace everyday since his mom died, and had added the photo of Mokuba to the other side.

Seto loved his baby brother. And oddly, Mokuba clung to Seto more than he did to his dad. Whenever Seto headed to school, Mokuba cried and had a fit. When he returned every afternoon, Seto was boamboarded with cuddles, (not literally, but he came home to a squealing and giggling little boy) by his excited younger brother.

Anyways, Seto had another thing to look for.

Blue-Eye's White dragon.

It was a card in Duel Monsters that reminded him of his mother. Elegant, graceful, yet strong and fierce with a strong will and good heart.

4 in the world.

He would get them.

Seto started collecting them after his mother died. So far, he had some pretty trashy cards. But they were his. And he loved them.

"Set-o!"

Seto's eyes widened while turning to his baby brother, as well as his father's.

"What did he say?" His father asked putting down the book he was reading.

"Se-to!" Mokuba giggled.

Seto smiled while picking up his brother. "Daddy! Did you hear that?! His first word was my name!"

His father nodded and patted both of their heads lightly. "He really does like you, Seto. You've been a great big brother."

Seto nodded while cradling the one-year-old against his chest. "Now he needs to learn how to say more words.

He dreaded everyday when he went to school, because he couldn't spend time with his younger brother. Then, when Seto got home, he picked his brother up, hugged him, told him about his day, (even though he knew Mokuba wouldn't get anything he was saying) and played with him until dinner or bedtime. On weekends, the baby took naps, and while the baby was sleeping, Seto was bored out of his mind.

Seto loved his baby brother.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **October 25, 1998**

 **Domino City, 12:49**

He was turning eight!

Seto's brother had turned 2 a few months ago, and today was his 8th birthday!

Chocolate ice-cream cake. He hated regular cake. He hated how much icing was on a regular cake. He hated how sickly sweet the whole peice of cake would be. So, he requested an ice cream cake. Chocolate.

What was important about this fact? His mother hated cake too. She'd eat it, but preferred ice cream

Seto's mother always looked forward to seeing Seto grow up and become something great. She had said it over and over again.

Seto missed her dearly.

He loved his brother and daddy, but she was missing from the picture.

"Set-o!" Mokuba squealed. "Cake?"

He nodded and smiled towards his younger brother, and helped him eat of his spoon. Mokuba smiled, with smudges of chocolate ice-cream on the sides of his lips. Seto laughed quietly, grabbed a napkin, and cleaned his brothers face.

"There you go." Seto pinched Mokuba's clean cheek lightly. The younger squealed again and clapped his hands.

Now that Mokuba was older, and was walking, talking and playing with more hard things, like puzzles, Seto also saw his baby brothers full look.

Black, wild hair (that Seto thought was adorable), aqua eyes with a exotic mix of violet, tanned skin (from playing outside a lot) and chubby hands and feet. Sadly, Seto couldn't call him a baby anymore. He could call him a toddler though!

He intended to.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **July 27, 1999**

 **Domino City, 21:08**

Seto awoke to whimpering.

It was Mokuba.

Seto ripped the covers from his body, and dashed into his younger brothers room. He peeked on his brother's bed. The toddler retired from his crib about a year ago.

Mokuba was thrashing in the bed and the smallest bit of sweat was forming on his head.

Seto carefully picked the boy up, making sure not to wake him, and sat down in a rocking chair they got while his mother was alive, with the child in his arms.

Seto whispered some calming words to the baby, and rocked him in his arms. If Mokuba was awake, the three-year-old would have told him he was being too cuddly, but snuggle up to his brother anyways.

He stroked his younger brothers hair while still rocking him, and instantly the boy stopped whimpering. The toddler cuddled into his older brothers arms, and gripped on to Seto's pajama shirt.

Seto smiled to himself and got up, then placing his brother in his bed.

He stayed there to make sure the boy was alright before heading to his own room.

Seto's father, who watched the whole ordeal, smiled and one thought ran through his head.

'His mother would be proud.'

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **December 1, 2000**

 **Domino City, 22:12**

Mokuba was 4 and Seto was now 9.

As Mokuba was growing older, he started realizing something. Something that Seto dreaded.

"Where's mommy?" Mokuba asked him for the third time that day.

"Not here."

"But she's been gone a really long time!"

Seto pulled his brother up on the bed where he was sitting. It was 10 o'clock at night, and while Seto knew it was past Mokuba's bedtime, he wanted to explain how wonderful their mother was.

"Mother had long brown hair. She had eyes like yours, and your tanned skin. She had the warmest smile, greatest hugs, and the gentlest voice." Gentlest? Was that a word? Seto really didn't care. Tears brimmed at the side of his eyes. "Her laugh sounded like music, her words were like silk, her touch was warm, her heart was gold..."

"Seto?" Mokuba asked. "Why are you crying?"

Seto looked surprised. He felt his cheeks and felt that there was in fact tears. "Mokuba, mommy isn't coming back... Alright? That's all you need to know..."

Mokuba wrapped his hands around his brother. "Alright, Seto! Don't cry!"

Seto nodded, and brought Mokuba closer to him. "Okay, Mokuba..."

They stayed like that for the rest of the night, until their dad found them in the morning.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **January 1, 2001**

 **Domino City, 24:00**

It was New year's eve (technically it was New-Year's day...), and despite their father's protest Seto and Mokuba went to see the fireworks

"So, Mokuba," Seto asked to his younger brother, who was sitting contently on his lap. "Did you like the fireworks?"

Mokuba nodded. "Yeah! This was my first time going, and I loved to spend it with my Nii-Sama!"

Seto smiled at the name. Big brother. He pulled Mokuba tighter against his chest, and the younger didn't protest. Mokuba simply snuggled into the warmth, looking up at the different colors that bursted and spreaded out evenly, looking like liquid moon against the dark night sky.

"We should be heading back home. Both of you are up way past your bedtime." Their father chimed in.

"Aww," Both Mokuba and Seto whined. "But we haven't seen the end!"

Their dad huffed and leaned back against the grass they were sitting on.

"Fine. But only a few more minutes."

Both of his children cheered and sat back and watched the fireworks burst, until the last on was used. "Alright boys, pack up, we're going to go home now."

When his father looked over at the pair, he found them in a... unexpected way... unexpectedly cute that is!

Mokuba was laying against his brother's chest, asleep, and Seto had his arms wrapped around the younger, like when he was awake, and his head was buried into his hair.

His dad picked up Mokuba first, and placed him in the backseat of their car, that was parked a few meters away. Next, he got Seto and placed him in the back with his brother.

Their father took a minute just looking at the two brothers sleeping peacefully. How he wished their mother were still here to see this.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **August 3rd, 2001**

 **Domino City 14:17**

Mokuba was now 5 and Seto was on his way to becoming 10.

Mokuba had doing excellent in school. He hadn't skipped a grade like Seto had, but he was far ahead in his kindergarten class. He had been reading beyond grade level, writing and drawing better than his classmates, and what Seto was most thankful for was the fact that Mokuba had not been bullied. It was summer vacation now, but Seto really couldn't wait for the school to start in the fall.

Right now, Seto and Mokuba were sitting their backyard and Seto was helping Mokuba understand the game Duel Monsters.

"So the monster with the higher attack power, that card can destroy it's opponent." Mokuba stated setting down a monster card face up smiling from ear-to-ear

Seto nodded, smiling equally as big. "Yeah, exactly!" The brunette's smile then turned into a mischievous grin and set down a monster card that was 400 ATK power more than Mokuba's card. "I win."

Mokuba huffed in fake annoyance. "Why are you so good at this game?!"

Seto giggled and tousled Mokuba's hair playfully. "Cheer up, Mokuba! You'll beat me for sure one day!"

"Yeah right."

"You will!" Seto insisted with a grin still plastered to his face. "Come on," Seto said standing up. "I'll ask dad if he can make some ramen for us, how does that sound?"

Mokuba instantly perked up at the mention ramen "Last one there gets less ramen!" He raced past Seto, his laughter being heard from the far part of their backyard.

There couldn't have been a more calming and musical sound.

Seto let out a chuckle and ran after his little brother. "Hey, wait up!"

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **November 23, 2001**

 **Domino City, 21:47**

Seto was more than annoyed at the persistent knocking at his door.

TAP TAP TAP TAP!

It was too late for this! This knocking would guarantee to wake his baby brother! Just as Seto was about to climb out of his warm and cozy bed, he heard a faint "I'm coming, hold on!" from his babysitter. He heard someone stumble around downstairs and fumble with the lock.

He might've even laughed if the knocking wasn't so annoying.

Even though the babysitter had answered the door, curiosity got the better of him, and he creeped downstairs as quiet as he could. The floorboards beneath him groaned under his weight a few times, and he was almost positive he would be caught.

As he peeked around the stair railing, time immediately _froze._

The tears streaming down his babysitter's face, the sympathetic gaze that was locked on a police officer's face that was standing outside on their doorstep, two sets of wide eyes that locked with each other when his babysitter finally noticed him standing there, the quiet patter of Mokuba's footsteps as he approached everybody around him.

But it wasn't exactly the actions that everybody was performing.

It was the words.

Four words.

Four of the worst words that Seto ever imagined hearing.

No.

He had already _lived_ these words.

He didn't need to imagine _anything_.

All this ten year old boy needed was to take them in.

"Drunk dri... ar crash... sorry, but..."

Here they came...

 _ **"He didn't make it."**_

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **January 29, 2002**

 **Domino City Orphanage, 15:34**

"Give it back!"

"No way, 'Mokie!'"

The orphanage was so bad, that it almost made Seto want to just sob to his heart's content.

Three meals a day, consisting of the same food for each meal every day; creeal for breakfast, half a sandwich for lunch, and mashed potatoes, peas, and a chicken strip for dinner; a room he had to share with 8 other boys; many bullies; home schooling; old toys from way too far back; lumpy mattresses; cob webbed rooms.

Seto hated it.

But, as mentioned before, as much as he wanted to break down and cry, he simply refused to give up, becuase this was harder for his little brother. And his little brother was of far more importance then him.

Like me right now for instance. The bullies at the orphanage were picking on Mokuba by taking his toy airplane away and taunting him with the nickname Seto had given him.

So the young brunette did the only logical thing.

He tackled the ugly, pudgy bully.

"Don't you _dare_ call my brother any names!" Seto shook the boy with one hand, while the other scratched the other's wrist, resulting in the toy airplane being realeased from the sweaty grasp it was contained in.

Seto glared, face to face with bully. "And don't you dare," Seto paused kneeing him hard in the stomach "Take my brothers toys!"

Seto was satisfied with the happy giggle that escaped from his baby brother at getting his toy back, but he was not however satisfied with the hand that grabbed the back of his shirt. He looked up to see a _very _ upset Mrs. Kashiro.

"Come with me young man!"

Like she was giving him a choice. Mrs. Kashiro was dragging him by the back of his shirt and towards the office of the orphanage classroom. There was only one teacher at the orphanage, along with one chef and one caretaker for each gender.

Anyways, he was plopped down harshly into a seat by Mrs. Koshiro with a desk separating him from another chair which Mrs. Koshiro sat upon.

"Why did you physically attack Momo?"

Peach. The bully's name was _peach._

Well in Seto's opinion, this 'Momo' kid was no peach.

He gave her an icy stare "He bullied my brother."

"I'm betting that he didn't bully your brother." She said, returning his icy stare. "You want to know why, Seto?"

"Because you're an incompetent fool who only believes in your own needs, and is blind to the world around you."

SLAP!

Seto's head snapped to the side from the force, and a red rash in the shape of a handprint was starting to form on his cheek. Seto smirked and turned his head "Wrong answer?" he asked in a mocking tone. "I've got plenty more."

She gave him a _cold_ glare "Wrong. _Answer_."

Seto kept the smirk plastered to his face, and raised and eyebrow. "What's the right answer?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose and squeezed her eyes tight. "I don't believe that Momo was bullying your brother because you like to pick fights on your own terms." Mrs. Kashiro spat, opening her eyes. She folded her hands neatly before continuing on. "You don't need a reason to attack someone. You'll just do it."

Seto rolled his eyes. "That's what you'd like to believe."

"It's what I know, brat."

Seto slammed his fist down on the desk. He felt satisfied when she yelped and jumped. "I hate this place! You 'caretakers' need to die in a hole."

With that he walked out.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **January 29, 2002**

 **Domino City, 19:57**

Later that evening, Seto couldn't really stand being at the orphanage any longer, so he took his precious little brother out for a walk on the Domino City bridge. The fiery orange sun speckled with hints of ruby, and hung low on the horizon at sunset, turning the still, blue water into liquid flame. The fish had found this stunningly beautiful and jumped for joy out of the water and splashed back in, scattering thousands of gorgeous crystal droplets a short distance away into the water.

It was absolutely gorgeous.

...

Seto hated it.

Why wasn't life this pretty and elegant?

"Seto?"

Seto's attention was quickly directed to his little brother when he heard the soft innocent voice from the petite boy.

"Yes, Mokuba?" he spoke in a soft, gentle tone, but didn't smile.

Mokuba noticed.

The ebony haired boy looked down at his shoes as they kept walking. "Why..." he paused, as if thinking the question carefully through first. "Why won't you go with the parents that want to adopt you?"

Seto answered without hesitation, like he was already expecting this question. "I'm surprised you don't already know."

Mokuba blinked in confusion. "Please tell me! Why won't you go live with a happy family? If you left you wouldn't have to defend me anymore, and you wouldn't get in trouble, and you'd have your own room, and you'd-"

Mokuba got cut off by gentle arms wrapping him in a familiar embrace. "Because if I did that, I wouldn't be happy. I wouldn't get to see my precious brothers face everyday. I'd be worried sick everyday about if you were hurt or not." Seto pulled back and stared into the aqua and violet eyes of his younger brother. "I'll never leave you. I'll always protect you."

Mokuba smiled and grabbed his brothers hand, then they continued walking hand-in-hand.

"No one will help us anymore."

Mokuba sent a questioning glance towards his brother, but kept quiet.

The gentle moment they had a few minutes ago was completely vanished.

Seto was dead serious. "We only have each other. We have to stick together, because we're alone. No one is your friend. You can't trust _anybody_."

Seto still hadn't smiled.

Mokuba noticed.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **Febuary 4, 2002**

 **Domino City Orphanage, 18:37**

"Checkmate."

Mokuba did a double take on the chessboard before him. "Aww. You're too good at everything!"

Seto ruffled the younger boys hair. "You'll beat me for sure one day! I'm sure of it!"

Mokuba huffed in frustration and disbelief. "Yeah, that's what you said about duel monsters too. It's almost been a year and you beat me on the third move!"

As Seto was about to tell him about the moves his mom taught him in chess, the small TV beside them suddenly got loud with clapping.

 _"Mr. Gozaburo Kaiba has won the national chess competition and is now named the National Chess Champion."_ The TV showed Mr. Kaiba holding up a chess trophy with a fake smile plastered to his face. _"In other news regarding Mr. Kaiba, he will be donating toys to the Domino City Orphanage on Febuary 21."_

Seto's eyes widened. His mouth fell open. This was an opportunity! Seto smiled happily.

"Seto? Seto what're you smiling about? Seto?"

And for the first time ever, he blocked his little brother out completely. He had work to do.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **Febuary 21, 2002**

 **Domino City Orphanage, 12:09**

Seto peeked his head around the corner. His eyes actually kinda widened at the sight of Mr. Kaiba.

He was tall, with broad shoulders. Gray bristled hair was combed over the back of his head as if that made him handsome or something. The man was also big. Not just the kind of big that you knew if he tripped over you, you'd suffocate under his fat, but also the big where if he did trip over you, and after you've suffocated, he'd beat you with his fist for getting in his way.

He took a breath, prayed that his sweet little brother wouldn't do anything that would make Mr. Kaiba mad, and stepped out in front of the hobbling man.

The caretaker looked like she could pass out at any minute. She gave him a hideous look, that seemed to scream _'What're you doing?'_

"Mr. Kaiba?"

"What do you want, kid?" The burly man asked looking down on Seto as if he were an ant that infested someone's house.

"I want to challenge you to a chess match. If I win you adopt me and my brother." Seto said determined and confident.

Gozaburo let out a thunderous laugh. "You think you can beat _me_?" He gave off another cruel laugh. "I'm a national champion, brat. I'll pass on that offer."

"Yes, indeed he is Seto." The other caretaker of the orphanage was there along with the female one, and he continued on. "And he's already been so generous to-"

"Be quiet fool, I wasn't asking you."

Even Mr. Kaiba got startled by Seto's additude. Seto directed his attention however, towards the rich man before him.

"Are you afraid of losing?"

"Of course not! Didn't you hear me, brat? I'm the national champion of chess." The man glared down at Seto with a challenging look in those brown eyes, as well as mockery.

"Then I guess it wouldn't be a problem if I tell the press you passed up a chess challenge against a _kid_."

At this, the millionaire physically stumbled backwards. "You wouldn't, brat!"

"Try me."

Mr. Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "I can't say I like your additude, brat." He paused and scratched his hairy chin. "You got a deal. Can you set up a quiet room for us?"

The question was directed towards the male caretaker, and the man nodded in affirmation dabbing sweat away from his forehead with a hankerchief . "Yes, right away. Follow me."

They were led into an empty classroom, and the female caretaker pulled up a chair to a desk for Mr. Kaiba without hesitation.

Seto pulled his own chair over.

A chessboard was put on the desk, with the two competitors staring each other with looks that could send you ten feet under. Mokuba and the adults stood a little ways back watching in astonishment

"You ready to lose, brat?"

The game started. Seto went first.

"Pawn to E3."

Gozaburo let out an 'hmph'. "That's my opening move." After moving his chess piece to that same position on the opposite side of the board, he gazed up into Seto's eyes. He did a double take.

Deep blue eyes glared at him, but they were filled with hurt, agony, frustration, but they also held... something deadly. A monster about to emerge from the black void, that knows your darkest secrets and will go to great deadly lengths to achieve his goals.

The rest of the game was a blur. Mokuba was trying hard to see what was happening, but it was a flurry of hands, fingers and chess peices. About 27 minutes later, he heard something he never thought he'd hear.

"Checkmate."

Mr. Kaiba looked absolutely _**furious**_. "That's outrageous! You've cheated somehow!"

Seto leaned back in his chair and a smug smirk played over his face. "No. I think you're a sore loser."

"I am not you stupid brat!"

"Then I'll tell the press you've lost against a kid in chess, AND that you're a sore loser when it comes to bets."

Gozaburo snarled. "You... You!"

"If you adopt me and my brother, then your social status will uphold." Seto reasoned.

Gozaburo sat there.

For actually quite a while. He and Seto stared each other down icily, the thick tension floating in the air with a suffocating grasp.

"You have a deal."

Seto and Mokuba cheered.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **March 1, 2002**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 13:24**

The ride was long and boring on the way to the Kaiba mansion. The were told to sit in a absolute silence by the chauffeur that Gozaburo had sent to get them from the orphanage.

The two boys gasped in amazement at the mansion as the pulled into the driveway.

It was huge and made of brown bricks. Two white columns stood on each side of the large door that would envelope them inside the mansion. A large amount of flowers, trees and trimmed bushes were placed at the sides and the front of the large building, while a marble fountain sat in the middle of a circular driveway. Made of limestone were stairs that led to the large wooden door.

"Woah..." Seto let out a breath of astonishment.

They got their backpacks out of the limo they arrived in and walked inside the large mansion.

Once they were inside, a fat, wrinkled, petit man in a butler outfit came up to the two and took Seto's belongings, while a maid came up and took Mokuba, and his belongings into another room.

"Where are they taking my little brother?" Seto demanded the petit man before him.

He let out a shaky laugh. "Mokuba will be shown around the mansion, as will you. My name is Hobson, and I will tour you around the mansion then send you to your studies as Mr. Kaiba instructed."

Seto narrowed his eyes into slits. "I didn't agree to homeschooling. Besides it's our first day."

"Oh, dear," Hobson frowned. "Mr. Kaiba will not like that answer, but you're free to talk it up with him. In the meantime, I will tour you, then you may protest against Mr. Kaiba all you would like."

The way Hobson said the last statement made Seto's skin crawl with unwanted discomfort. He sounded like there was no way out of it... Seto followed the ugly man anyways.

The tour was not short timed. Seto was shown all the important rooms of the mansion and that took almost half and hour. That was not including the recreational rooms or study rooms.

When the tour was finally over, Seto was led to room that had large wooden doors, and a KC symbol engraved in the wood. Hobson knocked on the door three times. "Come in." was heard from the other side.

The large doors were pushed open, and Hobson bowed as Seto walked in, then excused himself leaving them to chat amongst themselves.

"So," Gozaburo started. "Hobson has told you about your studying."

"Yeah and I disagree with it. I didn't a-"

This hurt much more than a slap.

Before he knew what was happening, Gozaburo had a switchblade, and had used the blunt and smooth side of it to smack his chest. Seto clutched at his chest and looked up with tears misting at the corners of his eyes.

"The deal was that I'd adopt you and your stupid little brother if you won that chess game. You're obviously no retard, and you're now the eldest Kaiba."

Seto didn't say anything, for the first time not having a remark to snap back, but found that his mouth was hanging open trying to form words that didn't make sense.

"That means that you will become the heir to KaibaCorp. You will study, and this is not up for discussion. Unless you want you're brother to be thrown back into the orphanage." Gozaburo had a wicked smiled across his face as he glared down at the terrified boy.

That's not fair! You can't make me-"

Another cruel slap with the switchblade, in the same spot.

"You can, and you _will_." Gozaburo returned to the papers he was writing on when Seto had first entered, and told the kid harshly, "Get out of my sight. Your studying will start tomorrow."

He scrambled out of the room and right into Mokuba.

Mokuba was smiling and began to tell Seto everything he had seen and done in the matter of a hour that they've been here. Seto bobbed his head up and down absentmindedly, only half listening to the glorious things his brother had done.

 _"Unless you want you're brother to be thrown back in the orphanage..."_

Gozaburo's cruel words kept replaying in his head, and he wanted to cry in a corner.

The pain.

The frustration.

Seto was practically becoming a father at ten years old. No one was here to protect his Mokie, as it was obvious Mr. Kaiba didn't care at all for him and everyone else here was ordered to take Gozaburo's command.

Seto let tears fall out of his eyes, and only heard the distant voice of his brother asking if he was okay, and only a distant feeling of small chubby arms wrapping around his skinny frame.

The only thought he could focus on, was why?

Why?

Why did his parents have to die?

He wanted his mom and dad.

* * *

 _"Knowing some isn't coming back doesn't mean you ever stop waiting."_

 _-Toby Barlow_


	3. Chapter 3

**o-O-o**

 **Chapter 3- One Cent**

 **o-O-o**

 **March 10,** **2002**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 01:56**

To say this adoption was fun, Seto would've had to of been knocked over the head ten times, then put on some wacky medication. Think of any other word that was the opposite of fun.

It was only nine days after his adoption and Seto hated it.

The studying was long, and hard to do. Gozaburo had hired the best tutors from around the world, and they taught for endless hours.

He was learning Geography, Foriegn Languages, English, Psycology, Business skills, Economics, Technology, Physiology, Health, Science, Politics, and Math.

The hours that he studied were late, like right now, and the lessons were harsh.

Wrong answer? Slap with a ruler. Stupid question? Yelling. Fall asleep? Switchblade.

Right now he was actually falling asleep. His head nodded downwards towards his chest and his bangs fell over his eyes clouding his face. He really did try, but this was so hard!

The teachers and servants around him were honestly the only thing keeping him from just laying on the smooth wood desk and letting his senses shut down for just _one_ night!

But no. That wasn't acceptable. A harsh slapping sound sounded through out the large study room as the ruler came in contact with his text books, and he was instantly snapped awake.

Hobson, with a cruel smile played on to his lips, looked towards the teacher who was interrupted by the ruler. "I dearly apologize. Please, continue."

The teacher carried on without another word.

2 minutes left... Then he had an hour break...

He listened to the teacher babble on about how electromagnetic trains could travel faster than the average train, and stupid questions that needed an answer.

Two minutes went along as slow as molasses, but eventually a loud bell rang throughout the room. Seto hopped from his chair and ran out of the room with his text book.

He ran into his new room and collapsed on his green sectional couch.

The room had a dark green carpeted floor and mahogany walls. On the right corner of his room, 4 bookshelves curled around the wall. On the opposite end of the room, there was a bed with a dark red comforter and a nightstand that was a glossy and polished cherry wood. He had his own private washroom and a walk-in closet, which was hardly used, save for the couple of outfits he brought from the orphanage. One of the balcony doors was open, and a mild breeze blew in on the beams of a silvery moon, which cast a familiar shadow across the carpet.

Mokuba...

Seto sighed quietly. He really hoped Mokuba was doing alright. They hadn't seen much of each other since they got here.

The two siblings had seen each other yesterday at dinner, but since Seto was not allowed to eat dinner tonight, he hadn't seen his younger brother since then. Although the younger seemed happy, Seto felt a nagging worry gnaw at the back of his mind

Seto lay contently on the comfortable couch for what seemed like two minutes trying to ignore the angry stinging of his hand from where the ruler had made contact with delicate flesh and with no regret whatsoever, before Hobson's voice had interrupted his thoughts.

"Your teachers will see you now, break time is over. You will end at 3 a.m. sharp and a snack will be delivered half way through."

Seto hummed in affirmation, and he heard footsteps fade away from him. He dragged his tired body towards the study room and entered. He was met with the health teacher and he took his seat.

The 1 hour dwindled on, and the only highlight was the snack in between. It had only been two cookies and milk, but Seto was pleased. Near the end of his study period, he had a test, which he tried to do in time but was unprepared for it, so he worked overtime. Of course first he got yelled at by Hobson.

At 3:28 he was finished and he was escorted to his room.

Seto changed into his night clothes and plopped on his bed. As much as he wanted to sleep, he couldn't.

Seto was exhausted beyond belief, but his thoughts were scrambled, and the forming bruise on his chest and his left hand from the switchblade was not helping him. his hand stung viciously, and his chest felt as if Gozaburo had erected a titanium flagpole through it, and was standing triumphantly on his body in a manner similar to a pirate captain.

He was stressed out about tomorrow too. Well technically today because it was after midnight. He was to get up at 6:30 exactly to get ready for a camera shoot and interview outside of KaibaCorp at 7:15. Publicity stunt, obviously. At 8:00 he would then visit KaibaCorp for the first time. That also means he'd miss out on seeing Mokuba that morning because normally breakfast was at 7:00 sharp.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **March 10, 2002**

 **KaibaCorp,** **07:20**

Seto thought he'd be blind after. How do people _do_ this all the time?

The ten year old was surrounded by cameras right outside KaibaCorp, each one blinding him with a white flash when the camera man pressed the button that would take their picture.

Gozaburo was was absorbing each one. Giving an equally as blinding smile back at the technology, and patting Seto's shoulders and head. He was telling stories about how he's _so_ smart and will be the proud owner of KaibaCorp one day. People with journals were writing at a speed that couldn't be normal, listening closely to every word that spilled out of Gozaburo's mouth.

Seto hated it.

He was happy when 40 minutes later, the interviews and pictures were done. Gozaburo led him inside the tall building. Seto was pushed past the receptionist who greeted Mr. Kaiba with fake happiness, and another man came up right after her greeting to tell him his schedule. Gozaburo wasted no time and got right to buisness. Passing many offices they finally reached an elevator which took them to the highest floor. There, at the end of the hall was Gozaburo's office. The other man left the two alone and they were shut inside the large room.

The office was utterly luxurious. There was a gleaming, polished oak wood desk in the center of the room. The floor had a regal, dark red carpet, and the walls were a chocolate brown. There was a large TV on the left wall, while bookcases and file shelves wrapped around the corners of the right wall. The back wall of the room was made of glass, and was that a... "You have a liquor cabinet up here?! Should that be allowed?"

The rich man walked forward and sat in his large black desk chair. "No one else except you Seto, seems to care."

Seto rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath. "Of course no one else cares, " Seto saw Gozaburo give him a narrowed glance. "They bow down to you like you're a god."

The man gave off a cruel, short, derisive laugh. "Boy, you have much to learn! I am the founder and CEO of KaibaCorp, and no one working for me would dare give a damn about the alcohol."

Seto growled. Stupid Gozaburo and his power. He had everyone literally listening to his every command as if he was their saviour. ' _But one day, this will all be mine. And I'll run this company better than Gozaburo ever could.'_

"Seto," The elder said impatiently. "I did not bring you here to KaibaCorp so you could harrass me about what I keep in my office."

He returned his response in an equally impatient voice. "Then get to the point, _Pops_!"

Gozaburo growled at the back of his throat but didn't advance further. "KaibaCorp is a company that makes war machines."

Seto interrupted. "You produce Marvel Comics superheroes?"

"Boy, don't you have any manners?" Gozaburo raised to his full height by standing up. The pudgy man slammed his fist on the desk, and brunet wouldn't give the old man the satisfaction of seeing him jump in surprise. "Shut up, or you will regret it!"

Gozaburo took a seat again before starting to speak. "We do not produce Marvel Comics superheroes. KaibaCorp is a successful company that earns money by selling off to other countries."

Gozaburo looked up from the papers he was currently writing on. "The real question is, what will you do with KaibaCorp when you take over for me?"

Seto knew exactly what... They had made their plan at the orphanage.

 _ **Mokuba smiled, patting the sand in place. Looking towards Seto's part of the sandbox his eyes widened. "Wow Seto! Cool sandcastle!"**_

 _ **Seto looked up to his brother smiling. "This isn't a sandcastle Mokie. It's KaibaLand."**_

 _ **"KaibaLand?"**_

 _ **Seto nodded in affirmation. "Yep! It's a theme park that we'll build someday!"**_

 _ **Mokuba squealed in excitement. "Just for the two of us?"**_

 _ **"No," Seto shook his head rising to stand. "It will be open to anyone! And the best part? All unprivileged kids like us can get in for free!"**_

 _ **"That's so cool Seto!" The younger grinned as bright as the sun. "You'll name a ride after me right?!"**_

 _ **The two laughed joyfully, sharing each other's contentment in that very moment.**_

That was two days before their adoption.

Seto settled for a fake answer. "I haven't thought that far yet."

Gozaburo's eyes narrowed. "That's where you need improvement, Seto."

"Excuse me?"

"You let your feelings get in the way of what matters. You've been worrying about your brother so much that you've been failing to see what's right in front of you!"

Seto argued, "Are you telling me I can't care about someone if I have to study?"

"No!" Gozaburo said angrily. "I'm not telling you that you can't care about someone, Seto! I'm saying that you shouldn't!"

The younger raised an eyebrow. "Care to elaborate?"

"Seto, you are alone in this world! You can't trust anyone! Everyone is your enemy!"

Seto seethed. "Mokuba is _not_ my enemy, he is my brother!"

"As I was saying Seto," The man calmed down, but still had an icy aura around him. "This is exactly where you need improvement. Now, get someone to escort you back to the mansion. I was hoping for a more productive work period with you, but you aren't cooperating."

"No, " Seto argued with the elder once again. "I don't have any enemies! And you can't convince me otherwise."

"You want to prove yourself?" Gozaburo asked seriously. Without giving him time to answer Gozaburo continued. "You will create something for me then. A project. Make something that KaibaCorp could benifit from. Something that is new, something that only a young fresh mind could come up with."

"How long would I have?"

"As long as you need, but remember something." Gozaburo leaned back in his chair and turned to face the windows. "The longer you take, the longer you fail. And failure is unexceptable. Now, get someone to take you home."

Seto stood and walked out of the room without another word.

He rode the elevator downstairs and Roland, one of Gozaburo's bodyguards was ordered to take him home. The ride him was boring and Seto couldn't stop thinking about what Gozaburo has said.

 _"... You are alone in this world! You can't trust anyone! Everyone_ is _your enemy!"_

Stupid Gozaburo.

Looking out the window, he watched the world go by in blurs. When he came to a stoplight, he caught a peculiar sight. There was a boy, with shaggy blonde hair and amber gold eyes. The boy was wearing a light blue t-shirt and dark blue shorts. The boy was sitting on a doorstep to an apartment and he was... crying?

He reminded Seto of a mutt.

The car started to move again and his view was cut off. When he got home, he was tackled by a ebony haired boy.

"Seto!" Mokuba squealed in delight.

Seto smiled at his baby brother. "Hey, Mokuba! How was your day?"

"It was great! Come on! I've made cookies with the chef! Try one!" Mokuba pulled his brother along towards the kitchen.

He was pushed into a stool and waited for his brother to retrieve the cookies.

"Here!" Mokuba pushed the plate of cookies towards Seto. "I... hope you like them..."

Seto grabbed one of the cookies and took a bite out of it. "It's excellent, Mokuba!" He wrapped his arms around the younger in an embrace. Mokuba smiled lightly. "Thanks, Seto."

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **April 19, 2002**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 2:11**

Seto had finished his studies earlier that night, and his hands still stung. He had finished up with 4 slaps with the ruler and 27 times he got yelled at.

So, yeah, his day was JUST pleasant.

Seto to was now working on the project Gozaburo assigned him. Only it wasn't for the old man's sake. Seto was doing this because he wanted to.

What Gozaburo said that day got him thinking. Something new that only a young fresh mind could come up with.

Seto loved games. Mokuba loved games. _Kids_ loved games.

Virtual Reality System.

The first thing Seto did was look up how many kids play video games. It stated that 91% of kids play video games on average. He had been right, of course. He was targeting a large crowd.

Next, he looked at the science behind it.

Just from the name, even the most dumbest of person could figure out that it's a _Virtual Reality._ In reality, you use your 5 senses to make sense of the world; in virtual reality, you should be able to use all your senses except tasting.

As for how it worked, that was a different matter. VR headsets typically have two LCD displays, one for each eye. one for each eye. These lenses focus and reshape a picture for each eye, creating a stereoscopic 3D image by angling two 2D images to mimic how are eyes view the world ever so slightly different. It was like looking into binoculars. The width of the screens was also important; 360° was unnecessary; 110°, however, was easier for most people to get away with. Seto was not "most people."

The FPS was also important. An average rate of 60fps per second is needed to avoid stuttering in the technology, and users getting sick.

Next was head tracking. This means that the picture in front of you shifts up and down when you move your head in anyway. 60DoF plots your head in terms of x, y, and z, axis to measure head movement.

There are a few different internal components that can be used in a head-tracking set: a gyroscope; magnetometer; or accelerometer. LED lights around the headset can provide 360 degree head tracking due to an external camera monitoring these signals.

Head-tracking tech also needed low latency to be effective like 50ms or less to detect the lag between when we turn our head and when the VR environment changes. Headphones can be used to increase the sense of immersion. Binaural or 3D audio can be used by game developers to tap into VR headsets technology, and take advantage of this to give the wearer the sense that sound is coming from behind, to the side of them or in the distance.

Ugh...

Seto's brain could explode. He closed up his text books and stored his pencils and papers away neatly. He had a couple of blueprints and sketches of what he was hoping his VR system would turn out like.

See, the things he researched had already been done. Why would he copy someone else ideas? No, he was hoping he could bring a new state-of-the-art VR reality system that included everything. Not just controlling the head, but the whole body. He wanted to bring Duel Monsters to next level. Wouldn't it be great to see those monsters in real life? Like making holograms...

If he made a newly thought up VR system, he would become a better CEO than Gozaburo ever could be.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **May 12, 2002**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 05:39**

Seto continued his studies from there.

Gozaburo was starting to be a bit more demanding in Seto's studies. Gozaburo had him studying later hours, and got him learning more advanced things in each subject he had been studying.

Right now he was learning about chemical change and physical change in his science studies.

"Seto, define physical change."

Seto never hesitated. "Physical changes are changes affecting the form of a chemical substance, but not its chemical composition."

"Correct." The teacher started again. "Define chemical change."

"Chemical change is any change that results in the formation of new chemical substances."

"At the molecular level?" The teacher raised an eyebrow.

"Then chemical change would involve making or breaking of bonds between atoms," Seto answered with a tired voice. The young boy rubbed his eyes. He just wanted to feel the pillow against his head so that he could sleep blissfully for one night. Nightmare free and not interrupted by work upon work.

"Wake up!"

SLAP!

Seto was instantly awake at the sound and feeling of the switchblade against his hand. "Ouch..."

Seto didn't even remember closing his eyes. All he wanted to do was go to bed...

"If you find it hurts so much, then you should pay attention to the lesson." Hobson who was holding the switchblade, gave an evil smirk followed shortly after.

"I can't!" Seto's eyes widened. Uh-oh...

"You can't?" Hobson raised an eyebrow. "Well then, Mr. Kaiba will certainly not be pleased with that answer. You may excuse Seto now, Mr. Stuart."

With that, he was sent from the study room.

He walked through the mansion sluggishly, holding his text books in his arms. Seto desperately just wanted to get to his room, but it's as if Gozaburo purposely made his room as far from the study as he could. Suddenly, he ran into something hard. A person...

For a terrifying second he thought he'd run into Gozaburo, and waited for the slap that would surely follow after. When nothing happened he looked up from his frozen cringe. It was Roland.

"Young master Kaiba... I did not see you there. My apologies." The bodyguard started to pick Seto's materials off the ground.

"That's alright," Seto yawned, "I'm pretty out... of it... too..."

Seto collapsed forward, and Roland caught the brunet in his arms. "Young master Kaiba, are you... alright."

The question came out as more of understanding when he turned the boy over for inspection of injuries, only to find out he'd passed out from exhaustion.

Roland let out a sigh before bringing the materials and Seto to the younger's room.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **May 12, 2002**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 12:03**

Lunch had been served 3 minutes ago and the brothers could feel that something was off.

Seto and Mokuba glanced at each other many times throughout lunch, and the only sound was spoons tapping against the China bowls to collect the components of their soup. Gozaburo hadn't said anything about Seto's comment earlier while he was studying, but Seto was positive that the elder knew. Even if he had said something, the young siblings wouldn't have heard it because Gozaburo was so far down the table.

Seto looked down at his soup feeling it be less appetizing every time he took a bite.

Mokuba and his experience with the Kaiba mansion had been great so far. He was getting to go to private school and he was only there for 8 hours. Since it's Saturday today, Mokuba was off school and he was given the weekend off.

Almost half an hour later, lunch was done and like always, Gozaburo was first one to stand.

"Seto," the rich man began wiping his face with a napkin. "I would like to see you in your study room."

Seto did a double take. "My study room?"

" _Your_ study room."

Seto nodded and excused himself from the table. Gozaburo would no doubt come after him, so he made his way right to his study room.

He waited for approximately three minutes before Gozaburo showed up. The rich man sat on one side of the teacher's desk, while Seto sat on the other side.

Gozaburo got right to buisness "So, Seto, I've heard from Hobson that you aren't keeping up with your studying."

"That's not true!" Seto protested, his hands turning into fists. "I was just tired!"

Oh my gosh... Seto was making this so much worse for himself.

"You're tired?!" Gozaburo yelled, obviously furious. "What do you think running a company is? A joke? Seto, a CEO never gets sleep! They work so they can defeat their enemies!"

"I don't have any enemies!" Seto countered getting more outraged by the second.

"Take this advice from me boy! Never sleep until your work is done!"

"That's cruel!" Seto was getting just as furious as the man in front of him. "I can't just not sleep! You can't not sleep ether! We're humans!" Seto continued on without even thinking. "What am I saying? You're not human..."

That received a slap to the cheek.

"You stupid, ungrateful brat!" Gozaburo raged. "In order to crush your enemies you must work! Work with no rest to accomplish what you need to gain."

"For the last time, I don't have any enemies!"

His argument was ignored and he was dragged over to his desk by Gozaburo. There, he was pushed down into his seat and he heard something click. Looking at Gozaburo's hand, there was a... DOG COLLAR?

"What do you think you're doing?!" Seto pushed away from the offending object.

"Putting you in your place, _mutt_!"

Seto felt something cold slip around his neck before a chain connected the collar to the desk. "Try falling asleep now."

Gozaburo's voice sounded like a know-it-all. Seto hated that old man's voice.

Seto tried so desperately to try and move his head down or up, but between the vice grip it had on his neck and the chains keeping the tight collar in one place, he always felt like he was being choked whichever way he turned.

"I'm not a mutt! You can't treat me like this!"

"Seto, you need to learn how to be ruthless! To take down your enemies you must work for it!" Gozaburo walked out of the room, waving his hand in a demanding way. "Someone unlock the dog from his collar."

Two bodyguards who stood at the large doorway moved to unlock him from the suffocating grasp of the collar.

Seto was immediately sent to his room, afterwards and was to stay up there until dinner with no visits from anyone including Mokuba. "Stupid Gozaburo...,"

The brunet's feet padded along the carpet silently as he made his way to the bathroom that was attached to his large bedroom. He inspected himself in the mirror.

Seto noticed his eyes were dull. Like really dull. The blue had faded into dark shade of blues and black and red rimmed the edges of the usually white part of his eyes. His eyes were glazed and the skin beneath his eyes was baggy and dark. The rest of his face was pale and his cheeks if you moved them at a certain angle were caving in.

Worst of all... A large bruise was starting to appear on his neck in a large ring shape. It was painted on with faint purples and blacks, and red trimmed images, a sure sign that it'd only been worn momentarily.

Seto growled and ran his fingers along the mark, Gozaburo's voice invading his mind. _"Putting you in your place, mutt!_

The young boy laid on his bed after he exited the washroom. He felt dissapointment directed towards himself. Why and how is he _allowing_ Gozaburo to do this to him? He's shaming and humiliating him, and he's sitting here allowing it for what?

 _Mokuba..._

Seto proceeded to sit up on his bed. He then moved to gather his notes on his Virtual Reality system. If he was going to be stuck up here, he might as well do something productive.

At that very moment Seto froze.

 _"Do something productive?!"_

Before this craziness happened, even at the orphanage, Seto calmed himself with a game. Wether that be a good game of Duel Monsters or a strategized game of chess against himself so he could improve on his skills.

Now he was doing work?

Seto put all of his text books and pencils and pens away, then proceeded to his small box of toys under his bed. He pulled out a chess board for himself and set up the pieces in their rightful places. Seto had to keep reminding himself that he did not just want to study more, and for the first time in a long time he couldn't concentrate on the game in front of him.

Seto shuddered and a shocking truth settled deep within him.

The old man was winning.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **June 2, 2002**

 **Domino City, 15:09**

Seto wrinkled his nose at the scene in front of him.

Gozaburo was meeting with a "friend'' at a random company building in Domino, and he was dragged along to be introduced. He was a German man called Mr. Von Schroedor and Seto thought he was kinda weird.

He couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt like he was getting seriously bad vibes from Mr. Von Schroeder; he felt like at some point in the distant future, he would be a serious threat.

The brunet shoved that gut feeling down and tried to be polite as he could. He wasn't sure why though. Gozaburo nor this Vin Schroeder guy deserved his respect. Maybe that was his days before this all happened speaking to him. He used to be lighthearted and free.

When it was time to wrap things up, they all bade their farewells and went their separate ways. Gozaburo growled at Seto once Mr. von Schroedor was out of earshot.

"That was humiliating Seto!"

"Care to explain?"

That earned him a light slap to the wrist.

"Even the most densest people could see you were socially awkward! Seto when you're a CEO and inherit KaibaCorp one day, you'll meet more than one enemy. You keep your enemies close to you. Got it?!"

Now before anyone judged him, he wasn't thinking at all when he did this. Seto _ran_.

He ignored the shouting voice behind him and the sound of footsteps fast approaching him. He wanted Gozaburo to stop. He wanted to be able to play again outside with friends and family, he wanted to not study for hours with a freakin' dog collar strapped to his neck.

Seto took every twisting, serpentine, and crowded path he could find, and he soon stopped as soon as the footsteps and the shouting voice were gone.

Seto realized he'd stopped near a park. It was empty, and no one else was around. He ignored the fact he looked pristine in his crisp, white suit, and sat on a dusty swing. He honestly didn't care right now.

Why couldn't he do this everyday?! He didn't want to study; he wanted Mokuba and him to have fun like normal children do.  
He wanted Mokuba to have his real parents around to guide him through life. Mokuba has no one except maids and butlers to hang around with all day, and they're no fun because they have to work.

A realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

Oh god...

Mokuba!

Seto made a stupid choice to run away and now Mokuba was left at the mansion to deal with Gozaburo's fury.

But... No...

Seto couldn't let this man win... Gozaburo would have to have his bodyguards find him before he chose to return to the mansion.

Seto chose to stay at the park for hours, his mind and heart racing at what Mokuba might be going through.

Hours later, he was knocked unconscious. He could only guess that they'd found him and were bringing him back. Or somebody was kidnapping him. To him, it really didn't matter at this point.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **June 2, 2002**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 20:32**

If he thought he was getting away with this with a little punishment, he was wrong.

Gozaburo had more than just a long...chat with him. Seto was banned from meals for three days, and was only allowed tiny snacks and water, two times a day; he'd gotten 25 ruler slaps... ; this week, he'd only be allowed only 2 hours of break from his studies; and of course, he was sent to his room without seeing his brother.

So, yeah... This day had gone great.

Seto lay in his bed now, holding his stinging (and bleeding in some places) hand, while tears streamed silently out of his eyes. He had the covers pulled over his shaking frame and was hidden inside thier warmth. He wanted to stay there forever, but he knew he couldn't.

He wanted Gozaburo to die more than anything. That stupid, no good, cheating devil needed to die. He didn't honestly care if Gozaburo died of natural causes, or something else; he just wanted the stupid man gone from existence.

The only thing holding him back from making that a reality, was his only reason for living... Mokuba.

Fate made Seto play that chess game at the orphanage, and it couldn't have been more cruel to him. The only thing holding him back from making that a reality, was his only reason for living... Mokuba. People could dress, feed, and bathe him, or he could be living on the streets for all he cared, but as long as Mokuba was safe, Seto was happy.

Beaides, someday KaibaCorp would be his. He would be in charge, and he and Mokuba would build their dream theme park.

So it didn't matter how much negative power Gozaubro had over Seto, because Seto knew Mokuba had more positive power over him.

* * *

 _"You see what power is - holding someone else's fear in your hands and showing it to them."_

 _-Amy Tan_


	4. Chapter 4

**o-O-o**

 **Chapter 4- Zero Cents**

 **o-O-o**

 **November 17,** **2002**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 06:03**

Seto still was studying. It's been approximately eight months since he's been adopted, and almost a month since he's turned 11. Mokuba had turned 6 back in July.

Seto hates studying with a fiery passion. Ever since Gozaburo had oh so 'generously' given him the dog collar, he still hated it more. Seto knew he would have a permanent scar now around his neck. For the rest of his life he'd have to cover the ugly thing.

Along with the scar, his whole body was taking some damage. From lack of sleep his eyes became hollow looking and dead. His skin was sort of pale and lost all the baby fat on it. He didn't look like a child anymore. He grew an inch and a half but he looked lanky and skeleton-like with the amount of food he was getting on average.

Slaps with the ruler became more frequent and yelling became much more infuriated. Time spent studying was tedious and exhausting.

The brunet had also spent days off or extra time researching his Virtual Reality system. So far, to no avail. He was so determined to make something that would have Gozaburo in a twist, and made the world just freeze and take a look.

Anyways, visits with Mokuba were much less frequent. Although now that Seto had a permanent schedule, he knew all the times he'd be able to see his beloved brother. That didn't make it better though. He was still studying too much to be normal.

Visits to KaibaCorp became normal occurrence as well.

He had met the Big Five, who were Gozaburo's most trusted executives. The Big Five consisted of Gansley the strategist for KaibaCorp, Crump who oversaw all the company's finances, Johnson their lawyer, Nezbitt the technical genius, and Leichter Gozaburo's right-hand man.

Seto hated each one of them to their cores.

They were evil. Just by looking at them you'd realize something was wrong. The evil smirk that played on thier lips when they knew something you didn't, their strategic way of persuading you. They were smart as heck, and never before had Seto taken any advice Gozaburo gave him until now: your enemies close. The Big Five would be useful pawns on his chessboard.

Lately he's been really lonely. Between not seeing Mokuba much, and studying all day with no rest, it could make a kid sick. He really wanted to go to a public school.

So that's why the young brunet was here at Gozaburo's study at the mansion requesting to go to school.

Gozaburo laughed at this and Seto _thought_ he was probably mocking him. Scratch that, he _was_. "You want to go to a public school?"

"Yes."

"Well the answer is a definite no."

Seto glared. "Why?"

Gozaburo huffed and took another sip of his coffee. Setting the mug back down, he gave an equally as hard glare back to the child. "The answer's clear, Seto. You should know why. "

"No, pops, I don't know. I wouldn't be asking if I knew." Seto snapped back.

"Because it would ruin my reputation and it would not be benificial to your studies." Gozaubro stated in an all knowing voice.

"Yeah and if the press knew you were forcing an eleven year old to study until 6 o'clock in the morning and slapping them with a ruler when they got something wrong, you've already ruined that reputation."

"No arguing with this matter, Seto. I have already said no and gave you valid reasons."

"About ruining your reputation?!" Seto seethed. "Trust me, you don't need me to do that. You do it well enough on your own."

A slap to the face was earned from the comment. "No! My answer is no!" Gozaburo went back to his papers and waved the young boy off. "Excuse yourself from here! I don't want to see you right at the moment."

"No!" Seto was angry at Gozaburo for ignoring him. "You can't just ignore me! Please, it's so lonely here with no one-"

Gozaburo interrupted the brunet. "You're always alone Seto! You can't trust anyone!"

"I don't have to be alone! I could do just as well at a school as I could here! I just need to try!"

The elder in the room looked at the youngers pleading azure eyes. He considered it for about a minute before nodding. "Fine."

Seto's eyes widened dramatically before he smiled large. "Thank you!"

"But," Gozaburo continued, not looking as thrilled as Seto with this decision. "You are to study harder than you have so far when you are home. No slacking off!"

Seto grimaced at the thought of doing more studying, but nodded curtly.

"Good. Now get out of here brat."

And with that, he was exiting the room with happy thoughts of going to school.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **November 17, 2002**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 18:04**

That day had been really peaceful. Compared to the days where Seto was cooped up into his study room, this was a Cinderella story. He felt like he'd gone to a ball. (Not literally, but the happiness was present all day.)

He managed to get away with reading two text books today, and was free to spend time with his younger sibling. They played chess all day, and Seto couldn't be happier.

Gozaburo started up a conversation, wiping his mouth with his napkin. "I hear you're falling behind in your studies."

 _"Hobson, you_ _snake!"_ Seto thought angrily but didn't advance further.

"So, you'll no longer have weekends off, starting immediately."

"But I've been working so hard!" Seto argued clenching his hand into a fist.

Gozaubro made a sound of disbelief. "Not hard enough! Disipline is the only way to crush your enemies!"

"I don't have any enemies!" Seto stood up and raised a first as to prove his point.

"Of course you do! You just don't realize it, Seto. You can't trust anybody, not even me!"

"Hobson!" Gozaburo ordered snappishly. "Confiscate all of Seto's toys. Maybe that will teach you to spend more time studying and not wasting your brain away."

With that, their conversation was over. True to Gozaburo's command, Hobson ventured to his room that night and confiscated all his toys. The chessboard, the backgammon board, and the go set was all put into a cardboard box and was sent away.

Hobson felt like making the boy angrier than he already was and left with one last comment. "This is for your own good. Mr. Kaiba knows what's best for you."

Seto glared at the toad like guy as he left. _"_ _Stupid Hobson..."_

Over on other side of the mansion, Mokuba was looking out the window at Seto's room and how the light was on. The younger sighed wistfully and stepped away from his balcony door. "The way they treat Seto stinks... But I know a way to make him smile!"

Mokuba's eyes then lit up. He remembered something, something that happened before the orphanage...

 _ **"Hey Seto," Mokuba asked tilting his head. "What's your favourite card?"**_

 _ **The two were in their living room and had Duel Monster cards set up on each side of the table.**_

 _ **The older replied happily. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon."**_

 _ **"Huh?" Mokuba was confused. "I've never seen that card before in your deck!"**_

 _ **Seto laughed with joy. "That's because I don't have one. There is only four in the whole entire world." Seto looked at the younger wistfully. "But one day, I'll have one for sure."**_

Mokuba smiled at the memory. He missed those days...

The ebony haired boy proceeded to collect all the Duel Monsters cards that Seto had collected. Why they were with him, who knows? But it was convenient, so the young boy didn't care.

After he collected a lot of cards, he proceeded to draw what he knew would cheer Seto up.

He knew Seto loved the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and he secretly dreamed that Seto would take them as far away from Gozaburo as they could get, while riding on a Blue Eyes. Mokuba would imagine the smile that would light up Seto's whole face, and the sparkle in his big brother's eyes would look as if they were live butterfly wings, as they flew off into the distance on the magestic creature. He'd never tell Seto that, though. The brunet would probably think it's childish and stupid...

He finished up the picture on the small slip of paper, and noticed something. _"How will I get these to him...?"_

Mokuba then had a brilliant idea. He'd put it in a text book. Why not? It's was perfect, because Gozaburo wanted him to study, so what better way to get this cards to him?

One error came with that plan. The cards could fall out if the pages loosened even slightly. Mokuba shuddered at the thought of Gozaburo finding out.

So, he got a text book from one of his never ending bookshelves, and cut out a little square. He stuffed the cards inside, as well as his drawing and note.

The raven haired boy smiled to himself, happy with the outcome of his hard work. He snuck a peak at his large clock and noticed it was 20:41. He figured Hobson would be in to remind him to be in bed in about fifteeen minutes, so he snuck into the hallway right outside his large, wooden bedroom doors.

Hobson appeared right on time as he expected, and walked right up to the young child. "Hey, now! Get back to bed!"

Mokuba smiled innocently and handed the 'text book' to Hobson. "Here, Seto forgot a text book. You heard dad, got to study, study study!"

"Alright, now back to bed."

"Right away!" Mokuba scampered back to his bedroom, and while listening to Hobson steps dissolve into the sounds of the night, he fell asleep.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **November 18, 2002**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 4:59**

Seto was utterly _exhausted._

He honestly didn't know why. Although he'd been awake studying a lot, it's not like any other time. He'd been studying like this for months now... It really shouldn't bother him so much.

When the young boy made it back to his room he didn't have enough energy to make it to his bed, and just collapsed on his sectional couch. _'If I see another text book, I'll barf!'_

Fate seemed cruel to him though, and the person he wanted to see least at the moment walked through the door.

He saw the outline of a toad like figure and scowled harshly at the back of his kind.

"Sleeping? Already?" Hobson took a good look at the young boy, and Seto honestly wanted to slap his ugly face so hard, Google wouldn't be able to find him. "You still have one more lesson left. Oh and you left this behind." Hobson lay a text book beside his head on the couch. "I'd be more careful if I were you. Your next lesson is in one hour."

Didn't he _just_ tell him that? "I know..."

Hobson bowed respectfully and left the room, much to Seto's pleasure.

Seto sat up and looked at the red book while holding it in his skinny, cold hands. "I can't take this anymore!"

The book that was thrown landed a few feet away, and the said object opened while cards fell out.

Seto looked at the book again with a certain interest. He picked up a folded wad of paper first, and instantly recognized his brother's sloppy penmanship.

 _'Hey Seto,_ _I guess you found my hiding place. Remember, they can't take away everything from us, so enjoy my gift, but don't let them find it. Love, Mokie.'_

"Thanks, bro." Seto eyes had gotten gentle in the moment he read that, and he hadn't even realized a warm smile slipped upon his face.

Seto was happy when he found out what Mokuba was talking about. "My Duel Monsters cards! Well, they're not the greatest cards, but they're mine..."

The brunet's eyes widened. Mokuba had drawn him Blue-Eyes White Dragon! "Huh, a Blue-Eyes White Dragon?"

Seto, feeling instantly energized at the thought of what his brother had done for him, walked out on to his balcony. "Mokuba drew me a Blue-Eyes White Dagon card." Seto looked determinedly up to the black sky dotted with sparkling white glitter that was also known as stars. "One day, I _know_ I'll have the real one in my deck. Just you wait..."

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **December 24, 2002**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 20:07**

The last month had been awful for Seto. Up until today, Christmas Eve, he'd been studying harder than ever. Seto could tell Gozaburo hated sending him to a private school come spring, and it was like the old man was trying to get him learn every single knowledge this earth possessed before he was sent there.

But right now, he couldn't focus on that. He had his little brother snuggled in his arms, cocooned within a blanket, on the brink of slumber, and Seto couldn't be happier. He'd gotten the whole day off, as well as tomorrow, and the brothers were free to do whatever for the time they were given off. Both brothers had planned a full day tomorrow, and Seto knew this is exactly what he needed to get into that holiday spirit.

Gozaburo on on the other hand, is the biggest Scrooge you'll ever come across.

No Chtistmas decor was to be put up at his command, and his holiday consisted of fancy wines and little cakes, while 'getting away from the brats.'

Seto snorted. Like he was actually around us enough to need a break.

Anyway, the old man just told the staff in the mansion to go home for the holiday and he was going to just spend tomorrow relaxing.

Seto has to give the elder credit though, at least he let his mansion staff go home. Seto thought for sure they were stuck working like KaibaCorp's employees. That's right, Gozaburo made them work tomorrow. Four, maybe five of the staff had secretly came to the Seto's room and delivered presents that night, and those brave enough to do so were all maids who had motherly hearts and couldn't stand seeing 'two young cutie children' go without presents on Christmas.

"Seto...?"

The brunet couldn't help but smile. The sight in front of him was so adorable. Mokuba's eyes were half-idled, his chubby hands were grasping the blanket, and wild black hair stuck every which way in a crossfire.

Seto brushed a strand of Mokuba's hair from his eyes. "Mhmm?"

"Are you happy?"

Seto did a double take. What was that supposed to mean? "What do you mean, Mokie?"

Mokuba sat up in Seto's arms, fully awake now. "Are you happy at the mansion? You always seem tired, and I know Gozaburo makes you stay up really late to work."

Seto smiled and lay his head on top of the youngers wild mess of black hair. "Are you happy, Mokuba?"

"Yes... I mean, it's better than the orphanage..." Mokuba pondered this thought, before coming up with a final, definite answer. "Yeah, I like it here!"

"Then I'm happy..." Seto gave a comforting look towards his brother. "Mokie, as long as you're happy, I'm happy. Joyful, ecstatic, you name it. I'm content with knowing your safe."

"Are you sure...?" Mokuba suddenly found his hands very entertaining. "I can't help but think I'm a bother sometimes... I mean I'm not very smart and I'm not at all as-"

Seto looked fiercely into the younger's eyes. "Mokuba, never say that! I love you little bro! You're so smart! Remember that book you hollowed out about a month ago, and filled it with Duel Monsters cards? I would've never thought of that myself! Mokie, you're the person I need to keep me going. So please, don't _ever_ feel like you're not good enough for me, because you're better!"

Seto's breath was gone by the time he was done, and Mouba looked at him with tears in his eyes. Seto's own eyes widened, thinking he had made his baby brother cry, but was relieved when Mokuba tackled him in a hug.

They both fell backwards on to Seto's bed, and Mokuba stated happily, "I love you, Seto! I love you so much! Don't ever leave me!"

 _ **He gripped on to her shirt, and buried his face into the crook of her neck. "Don't leave me again, please..."**_

 _ **She tightened her grip on him and shushed him. "Mommy won't leave, don't worry..."**_

Seto shuddered at the fresh memory of his mother. "I won't leave you, Mokie, don't worry..."

Exactly what his mother said...

Mokuba smiled up at his brother. "Merry Christmas, Seto."

Seto pulled his covers over the both of them, and wrapped Mokuba in a warm embrace. "Merry Christmas to you too. I love you..."

That night might've been dream free for Seto, but what was better than seeing his dreams, is that he saw no nightmare.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **December 25, 2002**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 08:09**

Seto was being shaken...

Why...? Was he in trouble...? No, Gozaburo must want him to study! He hadn't woke up on time!

Seto bolted upright and looked around frantically. He was met with a terrified Mokuba.

"Seto...? Are you alright...? I'm sorry-"

"I'm so sorry I scared you," Seto hugged his little brother and he felt the younger relax into his embrace. "I'm sorry..."

The younger didn't think much of it. "That's okay, Seto!" The younger had already dragged the presents on to Seto's bed and had sorted them into piles for each of them. "Let's open presents!"

Seto nodded hesitantly. What caused that reaction? Gozaburo was surely getting to him. I mean, the slaps were getting harder with the ruler, but Hobson had even started smacking his face and chest. Seto was really getting paranoid, and he was feeling ashamed. Why did he let them do that to him? He just sat there and took it... Why doesn't he fight them off...?

Seto's thoughts were pushed into the back of his mind when he heard his brother call to him, "Seto, you gonna open your presents?"

Seto nodded happily and climbed on to the bed with his brother and handed the first one to Mokuba. "You open yours first." Once Mokuba had the present in his grasp, the brunet kissed his brother's forehead. "Merry Christmas."

The next half-hour was spent opening gifts from the maids. They both were secretly thinking that they wanted to give the gifts they got for each other last.

When the last of the presents from the maids were opened up, Seto got his to Mokuba from under his bed, and Mokuba took his from where it was placed on a chair in the room.

Mokuba shyly handed his brother his gift. "You open your first! I hope you like it..."

Seto smiled and took the poorly wrapped gift from his younger brother. "I'll love whatever you get me."

The older unwrapped the gift with a fragile grace, and smiled warmly once he saw its content. "Aww... You're so thoughtful!"

Inside was a plushie. Of what? That should've been obvious. It was a Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and Seto couldn't love it more. "There's more, Seto!"

"Really? Mokuba you didn't have-" Seto got interrupted by a chubby finger in front of his face. "No complaining! I really wanted to do something special for Christmas, because you're my brother, and you've worked so hard and you deserve to be spoiled!"

"Mokie..." Seto dug through tissue paper with the plushie resting in his lap, and Mokuba leaned up against his side. He pulled out a necklace... No not a necklace!

"Mokuba?!" Seto's yes examined what was on the chain. "How'd you get these?"

On the chain, were his parents' wedding bands. The silver wrapped around in a leaf formation, and the sparkle of the diamonds so precisely put into place... There was no mistaking whose these were...

Mokuba rubbed his hands nervously. "Well after school one day during November, I went to Sachiko's house-"

Seto's eyes doubled in size. "You went to that old hag's house! They left us with nothing!"

It was true. After mother and father died, the two grieving children had been passed from family member to family member until all of the money they inherited from their parents was used. They all needed to burn in an everlasting hell...

"She's still our family... She's our aunt..." Mokuba met Seto's gaze. "Anyways, I went there to see if they had anything of mom and dad's because I know how much you miss them. She said she had nothing, but I knew she was lying so I snooped around. I found these and recognized dad's... So I took them both.. I hope you're not mad."

Seto took a shocked breath. "I'm not mad. At you anyways." Seto wrapped his arm around his little brother. "It's just that... I had been informed by our family members that these had been buried with each of our parents."

Mokuba nodded agreeing with him. "I remember the same thing... But as we both know, our relatives are lying snakes."

Seto snorted. "Yeah... Anyways, I appreciate the lengths you went to get these..." Seto held the chain so that the two components of the whole object were seen at eye level. "Thank you..."

Mokuba nodded and hugged his brother while Seto handed his brother his present. "Enjoy."

Mokuba, with a dog like grace (which in simpler terms, was no grace whatsoever), ripped the wrapping paper from around the small box. Once he saw what was inside he gasped.

"Seto... Who is that?" Mokuba stared at the photograph in front of him.

"Mom... I guess our minds think alike. I thought about it, and I haven't really shown you any pictures of mom. I don't remember doing so anyhow..."

And there she was. When she was alive. Her beautiful chestnut hair flowing like liquid chocolate, her smooth skin radiating as bright and warm as the sun. Her smile could light the whole world during a blackout, and those peircing aqua eyes were wise beyond her years but still held a child like innocence trapped within frozen time and a small square of paper. Never to be seen or heard from again.

"She's gorgeous..." Mokuba trailed off smiling contently.

Seto gazed back at the picture. "I feel a bit nostalgic looking at this photo... although I'm kind of happy, getting a reminder of who she was. I still remember her voice, her laugh, her smile... I don't want to forget.."

Mokuba grinned up at Seto with the power of a thousand suns gracing his childish features. "This is perfect! I remember the stories you've told me about her, but she's more beautiful then I could imagine... I wish I could've met her..."

"She would've been so proud of you." Seto lost all seriousness and grinned. "Come on! Open the next part!"

Mokuba dug through the rest of the box and pulled out his next present. "Woah..."

A leather bound journal. It was dad's. He kept it after he passed away and had read it at least a million times; so why not let Mokuba see what his dad wrote? The pages were yellow, some stained with tears, others marked with lipstick. It told the story of his dad from when he was a child to the day before his unfortunate death.

"It's dad's." Seto explained. "He wrote in it when he was just a child up into adult years, but I've already read it numerous times, so I'm passing it on to you. Just hide it well from Hobson and Gozaburo. Don't let them find it."

Mokuba nodded and put the two items back into the box I which they neatly came. "Don't worry! This isn't going anywhere!"

"Good," Seto gave his brother a brief side hug and helped the younger down from the bed. "Now how about we get your presents to your room before going to the kitchen to make cookies?"

Mokuba nodded eagerly and collected his presents, then ran out of his room chanting, "Catch me if you can!"

Seto went after him, and thought about how much Christmas was a success. Mokuba was happy, Seto was more than overjoyed, and the foggy memories of his parents suddenly seemed to clear up after the pictures and memories were shared together. Seto also knew that his parents were there with them, and they'd be so proud to see what they'd accomplished in such a hard and tedious time.

Seto could only hope for a better New Year.

One that would bring happiness and fortune to the young ones closed within the walls of Kaiba mansion

But fate played a cruel game. And of all the games he competed in, he's only won once, and the outcome was harrowing.

He could only hope...

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **January 1, 2003**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 24:02**

Seto had snuck into Mokuba's room earlier that evening, and they both shared the idea of watching the fireworks.

Out on Mokuba's balcony they made a nest of pillows and blankets, laying them on to the dusty and dirty ground (Gozaburo be damned), and had settled within each other's arms while watching the amazing colours burst.

Seto was homesick. He remembered doing this same exact event with every member of his family present. That had been without Mokuba. Not that he blamed the poor child. He couldn't help it; he wasn't even born yet. Still, even if it was with his dad, he wished one of his parents were still here.

"Ooh, Seto! Look at that one! It reminds me of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Seto's gaze fell where the ebony haired boy was pointing and he had to agree with his smaller brother. Against the large black canvas of the night sky, a stream of light blue and whites wrapped around each other in a beautiful display, while the yellow and white stars gave it a natural affect of shine and glitter that looked truly magnificent.

"It does, doesn't it?" Seto tightened his grip around his smaller brother and smiled. "I'll get the real Blue-Eyes one day."

"Huh?"

"I'll possess all 4 Blue-Eyes in the whole entire world, and then no one would be able to defeat me!" Seto chuckled at the likeliness of that.

"Seto..." The youngest twiddled his thumbs nervously. "I had a dream for when you get your Blue-Eyes... Oh never mind. It's a stupid dream..."

Seto shook his head. "No dreams are stupid Mokie! Remember my dreams to build KaibaLand? Well everybody thinks I can't accomplish it and that it's stupid, but I'll make my dream a reality. Now, what's yours?"

Mokuba blushed and smiled shyly up at his big brother. "I hoped that once you got a Blue-Eyes, you could fly us as far a away from Gozaburo Kaiba as we could while we sit on the Blue-Eyes White Dragon."

Mokuba looked up, feeling stupid for saying such childish things, when Seto laughed in content. "I think that's the best thing I've heard my entire life! Getting away from Gozaburo sounds like a great plan, Mokie!"

"Really?" The raven haired boy asked hopefully. "You don't think it's stupid?"

"Not at all."

For the remainder of the night, they watched the fireworks and then settled back inside the room where they both slept peacefully. Seto held the little boy close to him that night while Seto fought off his insomnia.

The Kaiba fragment of his mind was urging him to get off his butt and do something worth while, but the Seto fragment (which was considerably larger than the other part), was telling him to relax and go to sleep. As much as he hated to admit it, Gozaburo was now part of his mind; that part urging him to do more until nobody was left standing. That wasn't him. That wasn't him at all. But from the study sessions and the strict order of his step father it's been shoved roughly into his head that there is no time for games, free time, relaxation, sleep, food, vacation, or family.

No time for life...

All that was beginning to matter was studies and computers. Or how much money KaibaCorp had gained that month. Also what should be the next product we sell?

His brain was beginning to grow uncomfortable with all these thoughts, and while he lay awake he was thankful that it was not Mokuba under Gozaburo's stupid influence.

Before the brunet fell asleep, he planted a kiss to Mokuba's forehead and whispered to him, "Happy New Year..."

He could only hope.

* * *

 _"All things truly wicked start from an innocence."_

 _-Ernest Hemingway_


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: This is a very brief authors note, but OC warning for this chapter. I've gone over this chapter many times, and have tried so desperately to make my OC as non Mary-Sue-y as possible. This OC will only be in this chapter, and will have no romantic relationship with any of the actual characters and a brief friendship with a character from Yu-Gi-Oh! The bully in this chapter is technically an OC too, but I don't like to think of them as such. And again, the bully will only be present in this chapter.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **Chapter 5: One Cent**

 **o-O-o**

 **March 1, 2003**

 **Domino City Private School, 08:00**

Seto, for the first time, was nervous about school.

Today would be his first day and he was standing at the front of a classroom full of students and was supposed to greet them. He could feel the eyes of many pierce his form and his palms were getting sweaty from the attention. His school uniform was neat and crisp with every button in place and every tie tied up.

"Everyone, this our newly transferred student, Seto Kaiba." The teacher introduced him to everyone.

Seto bowed politely, just as he was told to do by Gozaburo. "Hello, I am pleased to meet you all."

That earned him snickers from the buffoons of the class, 'aww, he's so cute!' from some of the girls of the class, and a shocked look from his new teacher.

He walked forwards and took the only seat available near the front of the classroom. He got his text books out neatly and organized from his book bag and proceeded to listen intently to whatever the teacher was babbling on about.

About halfway through his first class, a guy beside him nudged him and asked him if he had an extra pen because his ran out of ink. He ignored the kid and the boy called him a jerk.

Eh, wasn't the worst he's ever heard.

Second class rolled around and he was stuck with the same people because this was a private school. His first class had been Math. He now had English.

Looking around the classroom, he spotted a calendar, and for the first time that day, noticed it was March 1st. A year ago today was when Gozaburo adopted him and his brother. A year ago since he's been trained under Gozaburo's influence and forced to study.

Speaking of studying... He knew everything!

Yes, Seto had come to this school and Gzoaburo made a deal with the principal that he was to skip a grade. This teacher was good at English, but everything he babbled on about things he learned a year ago!

Gozaburo had also used a cover story of him transferring from another school as not to put a bad reputation on himself. If the press knew he was getting homeschooled, they'd get suspicious and it could risk finding out about the ruler, switchblade and dog collar. The scars on his body stood as evidence. But Gozaburo also never had his records turned into the school so they wouldn't know he was sent to a 'petty public school' as Gozaburo put it.

As much as he hated to admit it, he missed his old school. He missed that annoying Satsuki (okay maybe not her), he missed Ronny, he missed how his mom would pick him up after school and greet him with a great big hug...

Ughh... This was going to be a long day. Two more classes to go until lunch.

Lunch time rolled around near 12:00 and Seto had packed his own food (actually the kitchen staff had), and was forced to eat with his homeroom. He didn't eat any of it however, and proceeded to read over some text books and taking notes.

The brunet was happy he got to actually interact with people through the day, but he forgot how annoying everybody else was. He could hear whispers coming from the boys around him, and girls giggling to other females while looking in his direction. No doubt everyone was talking about him, but honestly, he couldn't give another thought about it.

Gzoaburo was certainly gaining some influence on him. Here he was, his stomach begging for food, and he was reading a freakin' text book and taking notes on how Virtual Realities function.

"Hey, are you not eating?"

Seto, more annoyed than before, looked upwards towards the person that had dared to speak to him while reading.

There was girl standing before him. She had short, wild, golden coloured hair, and crimson eyes that were narrowed down at him. She had thick enough eyelashes that it made her look like she'd put makeup on, and her skin was pale, although not as pale as Seto's. Her uniform was below what was acceptable, the skirt was definitely not ironed, her gray sweater over her dirty white top was wrinkled and hung sloppily to one side, and her knee high socks were dragging down more than what was expected. She looked like the typical school gossip and bully.

He scrunched his nose up at her appearance.

"Very observant. I'm not eating."

The girl physically stumbled back in shock, as if she was recovering from a hit. By the looks of it, apparently she doesn't get a lot of smart mouthed comments back.

She stared at him for a minute or two, with Seto returning it with an icy glare, before she...

Laughed...?

The girl got a lot of stares and some whispers, and Seto could only stare in complete confusion. "I fail to see what's humorous..."

The girl laughed harder and pat him on the back once. Or it was supposed to be a pat. It felt like a wrestler punch to the back.

"Oh, geez," the girl wiped some tears from her eyes, her laughter ceasing but still had a grin plastered to her face. "You old, sarcastic fart! Who uses the word humorous anymore?! I like you!"

He stared at her. She stared at him.

"Who are you?"

The girl looked confused for a second, before sticking her arm out towards him and said happily, "The name's Aspen! And you're Seto Kaiba!"

He shook her hand, and let go as soon as possible feeling the sweat emanating from her calloused hands. "Yes... I am..."

"Hey, Aspen!" A boy waved to her from the front of their classroom. "Why are you talking to that charity case?!"

Seto's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Excuse me?"

"Are you deaf, welfare case?!" The boy asked earning nods of agreement from his cronies around him. "I asked why Aspen was talking to someone like you!"

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Seto asked demandingly, ready to land a punch to this guy.

The boy snickered and another, actually a girl this time put in two cents. "God, are you stupid _and_ deaf? He means you're a charity case; definition: a person that needs help financially, orphan brat."

"I'm not an orphan, nimrod," Seto rolled his eyes. "I have a stepfather now."

"Yeah, he adopted you, didn't he? Gozaburo Kaiba adopted two little brats from a shabby, run down orphanage, and all you're doing is sitting at the back of the room acting depressed and with that holier-than-thou exterior of yours, I'd think you were just in this for the publicity and money!"

"You'd be sad too if Gozaburo-"

Oh my god!

Seto covered his mouth instantly with wide eyes. He had said _way_ to much. Oh god, if it got out that Gozaburo had been hitting him and putting that dog collar from hell around his neck, he'd be in for more than a simple slap to the hand. He shuddered thinking about the time months ago when he had run away from. Gozaburo had been less than conversational or pleased with him...

"Okay, this has gone far enough!" Aspen cut in looking much more serious and infuriated than before. "Eito, shut your trap hole before I shut it myself!"

Eito, the boy that had been picking on Seto, shrunk back in fear under the cold glare of Aspen.

Seto snorted mentally. _Pathetic..._

"Seto," Aspen got much more gentle when speaking with him. "Pack up your things, and let's go outside. We're alllowed to."

Seto nodded, overjoyed to hear an excuse to leave the classroom. He packed his materials into his brown book bag and exited the classroom with Aspen.

The walked through the long hallways with Aspen by his side, and they finally made it to the schools large garden. The school was nicer than Seto's old one, he had to admit. This school, unlike his last, was more recently built and was more state-of-the-art. They had a large soccer field, a garden, and a basketball court. This school had many clubs and groups to get involved with, not that Seto would join any of them mind you.

Anyways, Aspen and him were now outside and Seto took in the beautiful scenery.

Cherry and Japanese maple trees spread throughout the expansive grounds, and the sakura blossoms had started to bloom. It was the perfect picture of spring seeing the blossoms swirling in the air. Japanese irises and flowering shrubs were spread around a rippling pond. The sky was a bright, crisp blue, and the sun shone warmly on them.

Aspen laughed at Seto's expression. "Pretty, no?"

"Yea... Not that I'm complaining, but why are we out here?"

"You said, and I quote, 'You'd be sad to if Gozaburo-'" Aspen looked towards him, her expression soft. "What were you going to say?"

Seto bit his lip softly and shrunk back under her gaze. Gozaburo had told Seto himself that he was not to speak a word about the dog collar or ruler. The only satisfaction that came to Seto from that demand, was the fact that Gozaburo was admitting he did something wrong.

"I wasn't going to say anything." He lied, hopefully well enough that she believed. From the look on her face, she wasn't buying a word of that.

"Seto, I won't tell anyone if you tell me." She lifted his chin so that he was looking into her crimson eyes, but he still never said anything. He realized for the first time, she was a couple inches taller than him, which was actually kind of ridiculous being as tall as he is already.

Aspen got into a really playful mode again. "That's okay! I know how it is, living with those stiffs! They walk around like the got a 3 metre stick up their-"

"Ah, stop right there." Seto smiled back at her. "No bad language!"

She blinked. "I was going to say butt, but oh well!" The blond girl got empathetic again. "Anyways, I really do know how tough it can get. Living with a serious CEO isn't easy."

"Your dad's a CEO? For what company?"

"Kobayashi Corp." Seto vaguely rembered Gozaburo mentioning that company once. "We produce technology for computers and and other things like that. We also recently set up a new lab to test out new theories on technology too."

Seto wondered if she was getting mistreated too. He snorted mentally. _Yeah, unlikely._ That's not to say she hasn't experienced hardships with her dad, just that it was unlikely that she wore a dog collar while she worked and had to be slapped every time she did something wrong.

"Sounds cool." Seto tried to say that wholeheartedly, but it didn't come anything like he wanted. After spending so much of his time with 'Mr. Kaiba' and his business buddies, he didn't want anything to do with CEO's.

Aspen laughed again, "Yea, okay. Anyways, wanna go see the rest of the school? I bet you had a hard time finding your way to class!"

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **March 2, 2003**

 **Domino City Private School, 12:06**

Since yesterday, Aspen and Seto spent their free time during school together. He learned that she was a energetic, sarcastic and competitive girl, that was quite popular. Seto also learned she hated being surrounded by these incompetent fools.

After learning this, Seto knew they'd get along great.

They worked in perfect harmony. One says a sarcastic comment to someone, the other finishes off with an insult. They were both really smart, both being the children of CEO's whether that be by blood or not.

The only thing Seto hated was the bullies. Eito and the two others that followed him around like he was their mother duck. They loved to picked on Seto and obviously had a crush on Aspen. She was clearly disturbed by the thought of having a boyfriend. Besides, they were all too young to date, even if they were a year older than Seto.

Back to the matter at hand, the boys that had a crush on Aspen were also infatuated with making fun of Seto. Mostly about how poor he was back in the orphanage. Not his fault the orphanage was a piece of crap. It was lunch time, and Aspen reluctantly had to go an Art Club meeting during lunch, so Seto was left in the classroom. He would've gone outside, but it'd look awkward for him to sit out there alone.

Seto was taking notes at his desk again about his Virtual Reality project. So far he'd gathered that in a virtual-people simulation, every inhabitant is a native of the simulated world. They do not have a real body in the external reality of the physical world. Instead, each is a fully simulated entity, possessing an appropriate level of consciousness that is implemented using the simulation's own logic. As such, they could be downloaded from one simulation to another, or even archived and resurrected at a later time. It is also possible that a simulated entity could be moved out of the simulation entirely by means of mind transfer into a synthetic body.

He now had a theory on how to make people look like themselves, while actually playing the game.

Seto had also looked into the 1999 film _The Matrix_ and looked at their theory. After studying The Matrix's theory, he found it both fascinating and terrifying to think that everything in the Virtual Reality world could be all in your head without even realizing it.  
Though the films thoughts are very scientific and cool to learn about.

But these are all thoughts and theories. Many scientists have said that the human race will never be capable of reaching a technological maturity to make a virtual reality in which every sense is possible.

"The orphan brat is reading again! How stupid!"

Seto looked up, peeved, and faced Eito. "I don't think your tiny brain can comprehend the meaning of 'stupid'."

Eitos face turned a dark shade of red. "Watch your mouth, gutter trash!"

Seto snorted, "I could eat a bowl of alphabet soup and crap out a smarter comeback than that."

Before he knew it, a fist made contact with his face. "You think you're smart, charity case?!"

Seto, holding his aching cheek smirked. "Yes, in fact I do think I'm smart." The young brunet saw Eito roll his eyes. "Keep rolling your eyes and you might actually find a brain back there."

Eito growled, but did not advance further into physical contact again. "You think you're wanted here?! You don't realize it, do you?! Nobody wants you! Gozaburo only adopted you for publicity and money! And that brother of yours? He's only keeping you around because you provide for him!"

That made Seto freeze in his tracks. "No, my brother loves me. We live for each other!"

"Aww, how sad," Eito made a pretend saddened face, clearly mocking him. "Why else would he be there? You really think he loves you? All he needs is a provider for his food, clothes, and the roof over his head. And hey, he's much more popular than you. Gozaburo pampers him, while you're only caught in the newspapers when Gozaburo brings you to his fancy corporation!"

"I'm going to ignore you now. I hope that one day you choke on the crap you spew out of your mouth."

A choir of 'oooooh!' was yelled by the classroom, and Eito and his goons finally walked away, giving him a dirty look.

"One more thing," Seto continued when Eito turned around to face him again. "Wipe your chin, you got food on it."

Eito angrily wiped his chin and walked away. Seto tested how far he could go with this...

"I meant your other chin."

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **March 2, 2003**

 **Domino City Private School, 16:00**

Seto and Aspen were waiting outside together for their chauffeurs, and Aspen was almost dying of laughter when she heard what Seto said at lunch to Eito.

"Oh my god! Those are the best comebacks ever! How'd you come up with those?"

Seto smiled faintly. "Practice."

Aspen stopped laughing and got more serious. "Seto, I also heard what Eito was saying. You don't believe him... right?"

Seto had a grim expression on his face. He didn't _want_ to believe it. After all the two brothers had been through together, he really knew deep down in his heart that nothing could separate them. But... the outer shell of his heart was listening to the words Eito had spoken. It sounded so true! Why else would his brother need him around? It certainly wasn't the attention, because Seto was never there anyways... It was not at all true what they said. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.

The genius that came up with that must be feeling dumber than a dodo bird.

"Of course not."

Aspen growled. "Cut the crap Seto. You and I both know that's a load of bull."

The brunet looked up surprised. "Excuse me?"

"Don't believe him, Seto! You're much smarter than him, you're more capable than him, and you have the stronger mind and heart! Seto you can't let him win! I've heard you talk about Mokuba, and from your stories, that kid would die for you and vice versa."

Seto looked at her in shock. "Okay, I won't let him win..."

Aspen smiled gently at him, while waving at her chauffeur who was currently pulling up to the two. "You better not let him win!"

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **April 1, 2003**

 **Domino City Private School, 13:34**

Seto had been going to school for a month now, and he hated it. Although Aspen was there and was his only friend, the bullying got worse. Gutter trash, orphanage brat, charity case, welfare case, poor boy, Mr. Kaiba's publicity boy, these are all things he's been called over the past month. Plus, many more.

Aspen really did try to help him, but the girl was involved in a lot of clubs, and was called the teacher's pet by many, so she was not around him too much to scare everybody away, 'cause let's face it. She's scary.

Today was April Fool's day, and Seto had his desk filled with paper, he's gotten tripped 17 times, and worst of all... someone freakin' pulled his pants down.

Of course it was nothing out of the ordinary, lanky legs and some black underwear, but what barbarian thinks it's okay to go around pulling people's pants to their ankles? Eito, that's who. Aspen had been more than furious. She grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt, stripped him until he was left in his underwear and pinned him against a locker, up high so he was displayed to everyone passing by.

It wasn't that Seto was embarrassed by any of this, but it's so god damned annoying! Aspen and him were currently at his desk laughing at the pictures they had gotten from the incident earlier.

"Oh my god, ducks! He wears duck underwear!" Aspen was nearly dying of her laughter. Said girl was crouched over the desk, half her body using the desk for support while her knees were bent against the ground. She was using one hand to keep her upright while the other clutched her stomach.

Seto was grinning while going through the portfolio pictures they got. "Yeah, this is the best! Think we could use this as blackmail sometime?"

"Totally!" The crimson eyed girl said recovering from her laughter.

"Eito is a real jerk." Seto declared putting the pictures down.

"Tell me something we didn't already know."

Seto shook his head. "I mean it. Those are the kind of people who don't make it in life. He might be picking on me because he gets picked on himself, or maybe something's going on at home, but whatever the reason, he doesn't trust or let people into his heart to help him."

Seto had no clue how much those would mean to him in the future.

"And that's why you'll go far in life." Aspen smiled gently at him. "You have a kind heart, Seto. The kind of heart that commits entirely to the person it loves. Just as long as you don't give up!"

Seto smiled and looked down at the photos again. "Thanks, Aspen."

No matter how annoying Eito may be, there's always a reason for that kind of behaviour, and Seto couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **April 2, 2003**

 **Domino City Private School, 12:23**

Eito hadn't talked to him since yesterday, but he could tell the guy was infuriated. Seto was privileged to receive death glares, sneers, scowls and growls all day long. Aspen was currently at a Drama Club meeting, and Seto was stuck sitting alone again, withering away at the feeling of Eito's cold glare run down his form.

Seto was researching on his VR system when Eito and his goons finally approached him.

"Hey, nerd! Whatcha doin'?" One of Eito's goons spoke first.

Seto rolled his eyes. "What does it look like I'm doing? Are you blind as well as stupid?"

Eito's goon raised his fist, but Eito put his arm up as if to say 'no, stop'.

"Don't. The welfare case is mine first! You guys can have what's left of him after I've dealt with him first!" Eito growled ferociously.

Seto smirked. "And just how do you think you'll beat me up?" The young brunet pointed towards their teacher, who was sitting writing at his desk. "Mr. Takashi decided to mark our tests in here today. You wouldn't be able to. Although," Seto snorted at his next thought. "Even if our teacher wasn't present, you still wouldn't be able to beat me."

"Why not?!"

"Because I'm staring at the reason double doors were invented."

People who had been listening in stared in shock, but then started to laugh in hysterics. Eito's face was priceless, and Seto carried on further. "I'm surprised you even got the meaning of that, you know, with your brain being pint sized."

"That's it!" Eito, apparently not caring that the teacher was in the room, raised his fist high in the air, but a voice interrupted him.

"Eito, is there a problem that should be addressed?" The teacher stood up quickly and narrowed his eyes into slits at the boy who had his fist raised.

Eito flinched under his commanding tone and immediately lowered his fist. "No, sir. We were just talking"

Mr. Takashi hummed in confirmation, and sat back down in his seat. He looked almost suspicious though, and Seto could've sworn that he saw the man glance up every few seconds.

"Some other day Seto Kaiba. I swear!" Eito growled.

Seto rolled his eyes. "I'm trembling in my boots."

Eito just scoffed at Seto and walked away with the rest of his goons. The younger sighed and resumed work. Not long after, Aspen returned with a packet of papers in her hand.

"Hey, Seto! What'd I miss?" Aspen happily grabbed a random chair from someone else's desk and sat together with him.

"Nothing except Eito and his goons. Better question, why are you back? It's still lunch!" Seto replied confused.

"What you don't wanna see me?" Aspen looked sad.

Seto's eyes widened. "No, that's not what I-"

Aspen let off a laugh that sounded like a witch cackle. "I'm joking!" The blonde continued when she saw Seto's relieved face. "We finished early. I got this script because we'll be doing a play."

"Cool, what play?"

" _The Sound of Music_. You know, the one about that girl Maria who comes to Captain Von Trapp's house and falls in love with him, and the children who are practically zombies at first-"

"I know what the play is about. What part did you get?"

"Brigitta Von Trapp." The girl joyfully waved the package in front of his face. "One of the main parts. There going to have some of the older kids play people like Maria, Captain, and Liesl."

Seto gave her a thumbs up and a smile. "Good job! When will it be presented to the school?"

Aspen gave a curious look. "I'm not sure. We've been doing auditions and practices for a very long time, but it takes time and effort to put a good play together, so I'd say near the end of this term."

"That's nice." Seto went back to work again, spiking Aspen's curiosity.

"What're you working on?"

Seto looked up, surprised to see someone that was interested in what he was doing. "I'm working on theories and notes to create a Virtual Reality Sytems that can make all five senses present while you're inside, but also can have the whole body function."

Aspen's eyes widened. "Woah, how old are you?"

"Eleven..." Seto responded like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Aspen rolled her eyes. "That's not what I meant."

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **April 2, 2003**

 **Domino City Private School, 16:09**

Seto was cornered.

After school had ended, which was 9 minutes ago, Aspen and Seto walked to the gates of the school waiting for their chauffeurs and Aspen's had arrived quickly. Seto was left alone, and that triggered his attention to why his book bag felt so light. Turns out he forgot his text books, so he went back into the school to retrieve them from his locker.

There, he was confronted by Eito and two of his goons.

Eito smirked and walked further towards Seto, putting less distance between the brunet and the wall. "Hey, charity case. Whatcha doin'?"

Seto glared at him. "Nothing of your interest, I assure you."

Eito laughed. "Whatever you're doing is always of my interest."

Seto sighed sadly.

Eito looked surprised by this. "What is it?!"

"I pity you. I really do."

"Excuse me?!"

Seto looked him fiercely in the eyes. "I pity you! You have to pick on others to make yourself feel high and mighty?! I'm not angry, I'm not sad, no, I pity you for having to do that! It's really saddening to see another person having to force their troubles on someone else because they can't trust someone enough to help them! I may not know what's wrong, but I could help!"

Seto was out of breath by the time he was done saying all that, but Eito's eyes were widened along with the other two's.

"What's wrong...?" Eito stared confused at Seto.

"Yes, Eito," Seto responded. "There's obviously something wrong that's happening at this school or out of it, because you don't start bullying people for no reason. The point of bullying is for the bully to make the other feel weak because the bully needs to feel in power, or needs attention he or she doesn't receive properly from parents or peers!"

Eito visibly swallowed, his eyes looking distant. Then he got angry.

He punched Seto in the stomach before retorting. "There's nothing wrong, orphan brat! The only thing wrong here is you! You're not wanted here! You should die, Seto! Nobody loves you."

Okay, that stung a little. "My little brother loves me!"

"No, he doesn't!" Another punch. "Your brother only keeps you around for the sole reason of needing. He needs to survive, and to survive you need a house, food, and water!" Eito growled. "Haven't you seen the papers! Every time Mokuba's out, it's with Gozaburo, he's never seen with you! He doesn't love you! Nobody does!"

Seto, no matter how untrue those words were, considered them for a brief second. "... No he loves me! We only have each other to rely on!"

"He doesn't love you!" Eito shook him angrily. Seto only then noticed that the other two goons had left and that he was pressed against the wall. "Why do you think you were dumped in an orphanage? Nobody wanted you! Obviously you have relatives, and if they didn't want you, who would?! Not your brother!"

Seto smirked. "You speak like its from experience."

Eito's eyes widened for a half second before narrowing. "No, I'm not a stupid orphan like you! Seriously, nobody cares about you! KILL YOURSELF!"

And with that, Eito left Seto with those words.

Seto bit his lip softly and travelled a short distance to where his locker was and grabbed his text books. He then exited the school and into the limo that picked him up every day.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **April 2, 2003**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 20:48**

Seto stood before Gozaburo, head down.

He he really couldn't believe he was doing this. After he made friends with Aspen, how he got to actually interact with people, and all because one kid was ignorant enough to ruin it for him.

"Father, I... Could I be taken... out of school?" It was said so softly it was practically a whisper.

Gozaburo raised and eyebrow and hid his smug smirk. "Taken out? But Seto, you pleaded with me to let you in."

"I know, but please. I don't want to go anymore. I can stay here and study..."

Gozaburo studied him with that raised eyebrow and then smirked. "Alright then, tomorrow, you'll begin studying at home again."

Seto hesitated to say the last part. "Can I ask one more favour?"

The rich man chuckled hollowly. "If I feel generous enough, maybe."

The young brunet took a deep breath. "I have this friend..."

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **April 3, 2003**

 **Domino City Private School, 15:58**

Seto stood at the entrance of the school.

The sun was beating down on him casting a golden glow over his form. His chestnut hair was tousled by the gentle breeze that blew his way every few minutes. Birds chirped happily from the trees they were perched in. It was a perfect day.

He saw her come out of the school. Her outfit untucked and not ironed, her short, wild, blonde hair shining against the sun and those crimson eyes looked brighter than usual. Her sneakers were muddy, most likely from playing soccer in the mud, and her black knee high socks were not parallel with each other.

Like a repeat of his first day, Seto scrunched his nose up at her appearance.

Aspen noticed him immediately. "Hey, Seto!" She ran over to him and skidded to a stop in front of him. "How come you weren't in school today? Aw man, you totally missed it! During lunch, we had this huge soccer game outside and-"

"Aspen, I'm leaving school."

Aspen froze from where she was demonstrating the soccer game, and stood straight. "What...?"

He sighed and looked at the students running out of the school to avoid eye contact with her. "Aspen, I really enjoyed spending my time here with you, but Eito..."

Her eyes suddenly narrowed into slits and her mouth raised into a growl. "Eito did this, didn't he?!" She punched the air in demonstration. "When I get my hands on him!"

Seto chuckled. "Yeah, do that for me. But...," he sighed. "The decisions already been made. I can't do it anymore."

Aspen looked as if she'd been stabbed with an axe though her chest. "No, please stay!" She grabbed his shoulders and looked into his eyes. "Please! Your the only person here that's not annoying!"

Seto laughed loudly at that. "Same for you!" He gazed into her eyes sadly. "But it's as I said, Eito's starting to get to me. I can't do it anymore..."

"Seto, I told you not to give up! Please, you're stronger than him, you can do it." She begged him.

"Sorry, Aspen." Seto smiled. "Do you still have your camera?"

Aspen nodded confused, and dug though her book bag until she found her camera. She handed it to Seto who put it in the air between the two of them. "Smile."

He clicked the button and a photo instantly came out. Seto shook it and the photo and the black dissapeared into a really nice photo of the two. He handed it to her. "Keep it."

She looked into his azure eyes, smiling sadly "There's no way to talk you out of this, is there?" She gazed at the photo in her hand. "Then just remember, Seto. Never give up hope... There's always a way out. Don't let Gozaburo win."

Seto smiled at her one last time. "Of course."

* * *

 _"You may leave school, but it never leaves you."_

 _-Andy Partridge_


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Previous chapter, I encountered a brief problem. It won't let me duplicate chapter names, so each chapter title will be presented at the beginning of all chapters. And at the end of this fanfic, the titles of each chapter should equal to 51.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **Chapter 6: Eight Cents**

 **o-O-o**

 **November 17, 2003**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 10:23**

To say it got better from there would've been a lie. Aspen became something of the past, and after the whole school ordeal Seto was forced to study harder then ever and it was showing.

His eyes went back to that glossy tired look and his skin got sickly pale again. He grew a little more, and he and his brother had turned one year older. He was now 12 and Mokuba was 7. The ring shaped scar around his neck was getting darker and his hand was red with rectangular shaped bruises.

Anyways, today was his mother's birthday, and the only good thing about having Gozaburo as a father, was that he was busy. He was currently at a board meeting with the Big Five and Seto was left to spend the day with Mokuba. Gozaburo had given him today off. He decided that today he would show Mokuba the locket he wore underneath his shirt.

It was nice out today. A light amount of snow coated the ground outside, and trees were bare with icicles pointing sharply as if they were claws. The sun wasn't out, but it wasn't cloudy. Breezes came in through Seto's open balcony door. The sky was bright and it wasn't to bad of a day at all.

At the moment, both brothers were in Seto's room, on his bed and Seto was smiling.

"What is it, Seto?" Mokuba asked confused as to why his brother was smiling so much.

He smiled just the same. "Do you know what day it is today?"

Mokuba shook his head.

Seto pulled the locket out from underneath his shirt. "It's mom's birthday."

"November 17th is mommy's birthday?" Mokuba asked, suddenly intrigued. Seto hummed in confirmation. "Yeah, it's her special day."

Mokuba noticed the sapphire locket. "What's that, Seto?"

Seto held it up so the pendant was at eye level. Ahh the memories...

 ** _"No, that can't be true!" Seto cried gazing up at his dad._**

 ** _His dad sobbed harder. They were causing quite a scene in the waiting room, but neither cared. The baby was resting peacefully in Seto's arms._**

 ** _"Seto, I'm sorry, but something went wrong... She's passed away."_**

 ** _"No, she can't be dead! She can't be, she promised she'd never leave!" Seto argued, as if that was supposed to bring her back._**

 ** _"Sweetie, she's gone. I'm sorry..." His dad pulled something out of his pocket. "She asked me to give this to you."_**

 ** _Seto let the tears pour down his face faster when he saw a familiar sapphire and silver locket..._**

"The day she passed away..." Seto started sadly, and Mokuba looked away. It was a sore spot for them both. "Your birthday... She gave me this locket to keep. I haven't shown you it since she's passed, and I've never told you about her either, except for Christmas."

Seto then handed the locket over to his brother, who took it in his chubby hands with a gentle grip.

Mokuba was wide-eyed staring at it. "It's beautiful... How'd she get it?"

"I bought it for her at Christmas when I was five." Seven years ago seemed like so long ago... "It's sapphire and silver. It's a locket."

"Really?" Mokuba opened the tiny object and looked at it closely. "It's mom, and... You!"

On one side of the locket, was their mother. Smiling gracefully for the photo. She was beautiful like always and seemed to have a particularly warm glow that day. Seto, at five years old was on the other side. He was smiling goofily and his hair was longer at that time, which is odd because he's always had longer hair than most boys his age.

"Mhmm. Pretty, no?"

Mokuba giggled. "Gorgeous..."

"As I said, I've never shown you it before, plus I wanted to go over some memories of her, kind of like a memoriam day..." Seto smiled sadly.

Mokuba gave the grin that Seto breathed for. "I'm all ears."

"Maybe I should start with how excited she was to have you. How excited we ALL were." Seto beamed, definitely remembering the happier times when they were a complete family, and how excited they were to have an addition. "Every time you were mentioned, mother would instantly smile and go on for time and time about how you would be the most magnificent and radiant thing she could ever possess... "

Mokuba bit his lip softly, "Seto, did you ever hate me at first?"

Despite the question being partly random, Seto knew what he was talking about. "Never. If there's anyone to blame it would be mom."

Mokuba was visibly startled and shocked by that. "Why?!"

Okay, Seto could not help the bitterness in his voice no matter how hard he tried. "Because she knew. She knew something was wrong and never told me. Even if she had the best intentions for me, she knew, and kept me from finding out. She knew she'd die, and still made that promise."

 _ **"I'm so sorry Seto..." she stroked his hair, and whispered into his ear. "I'm so sorry. Mommy will make it up to you. Alright?"**_

 _ **He gripped on to her shirt, and buried his face into the crook of her neck. "Don't leave me again, please..."**_

 _ **She tightened her grip on him and shushed him. "Mommy won't leave, don't worry..."**_

"I'm sorry..." Mokuba let out a large huff of air. "It's my fault..."

Seto rubbed the seven year-olds back comfortingly. "Don't you ever blame yourself kiddo... You weren't even born yet! That wasn't your fault..."

Mokuba gave a toothy smile. "Okay, Seto!" Mokuba looked thoughtful for a few seconds. "Tell me about her more personally. What did she like do, eat, study, or work on?"

"Oh my," Seto dramatically put a hand to his head. "You have just asked the question that doesn't have enough hours in the day to answer!"

The ebony haired boy giggled loudly, happiness emanating off him in waves. "Give me a brief summary!"

"She loved rice," That's one of the most prominent things he remembered. "Yes, mother loved rice with various sauces and meats. She loved savoury tasting sauces, and she could settle for the sour ones too, like lemon." Mokuba adored it when his brothers eyes lit up when he talked about her. These were the moments he wish he could preserve. "When it came to sweets she liked sweet and rich things like chocolate. She hated cake and prefers ice cream or frozen yogurt."

"What did she do for fun?" Mokuba inquired.

"Both her and dad shared a passion for writing. Actually, I might even have a few of their drabbles." Seto looked towards a floor board that was his hiding place for everything precious. "They were both exceptional writers. They put their heart into everything they wrote. She also liked art," Seto chuckled. "Dad sucked at drawing. He couldn't sketch a picture if his life depended on it."

"I already know she worked as a lawyer." Mokuba smiled up at his blue-eyed idol. "What else did she like to study or work on?"

Seto answered immediately. "She loved to study science. She did a lot experiments. She especially loved what Pavlov did with classical conditioning... she found it fascinating." Seto continued after a pause, "She also loved to bake. She made okay dinners, but her desserts were supreme."

"What did she bake?"

"She made the most wonderful frozen desserts, as I mentioned earlier. She hated cakes." Seto giggled. "I remember once she tried to make a cake and it turned out lopsided and... well not right." Mokuba's expression told Seto that he wanted more details.

"Seto, give me an example of something she made."

Seto answered immediately. "She made a wonderful dessert one time. It was waffles, hon-"

"Aren't waffles a breakfast food?" Mokuba asked legitimately confused.

Seto gave an airy laugh. "Yeah, but they can also be used for desserts. Anyway, she made fresh waffles, and paired them with gelato using fresh pêche de vigne and sage honey."

Mokuba bounced on the bed while smiling. "Awesome! Mommy sounds like she was great!"

"She was fantastic." Seto bit his lip softly. "I wish you could've met her. She would've been so proud of you for staying so strong."

Mokuba shook his head. "No, Seto, she would be proud of you."

Seto was confused. "...Me?"

"Yeah!" Mokuba grinned pointing at him. "You've become my father, Seto. You're eleven and you've become my father. You work with no rest for me, you take care of me, you make sure I'm happy even if that means you're unhappy."

Seto considered his words. "And it's true. If you're not happy, I'm not."

"That's not really my point." Mokuba smiled sheepishly. "You've sacrificed your childhood for me. You study late nights for me. I can hear Gozaburo or Hobson yelling at you sometimes at five in the morning."

Seto nearly had a heart attack. "At five?! Mokuba you should be asleep... by... then..."

His words faltered at the end as he realized what he said. Mokuba just gave a knowing smile. "See what I mean, Seto? What brother worries about what time their little brother is going to bed while they get yelled at?"

"I can't help but worry." Seto grimaced. "You can't take my place. I have to keep you away from Gozaburo."

That was the thing Seto feared most. That Gozaburo would be tired with him and let Mokuba take his place. He wouldn't be able to stand by knowing it was his innocent, happy little brother getting hit with that ruler, or getting yelled at by the teachers for not working hard enough. If wouldn't be Mokuba passing out in random spots because he hadn't got enough sleep the previous night or two. Seto would use everything in his power to let Mokuba keep what little childhood he had left.

Mokuba looked scared and suspicious. "Keep me away from Gozabruo? What do you mean? Seto is there something I should know about?"

Seto hated that he had to lie. "No, nothing. I just don't want your childhood to be ruined."

"Seto, are you positive?" Mokuba hugged him with every ounce of warmth he could muster up. If his brother was getting hurt by that monster, Mokuba might just have to smack some sense into the old fool. He felt like an older brother now, even they were five years apart. Mokuba was stroking Seto's hair and had the older against his chest. "I can help. I'd do anything for you."

Seto leaned into the embrace wrapping his own arms around the younger. "Nothing of your concern." When he saw that Mokuba was about to protest, he interrupted. "Please, leave it at that..."

Mokuba closed his mouth and they sat in that embrace listening to the bittersweet silence. The ebony haired boy was more than concerned with this news. Seto said to leave it, but something was going on. Seto was hiding something from him, and Mokuba was going to figure out exactly what. Maybe Gozaburo's hurting him. Maybe he's not just causing his big brother to stay up late, maybe it was more than that.

Mokuba gripped his brother tighter, and hesitantly ignoring the confused look he received. Just realizing it, Mokuba knew that he would protect Seto as much as Seto protected him. All this time, Seto might've been being hit, gone through harsh beatings, or... worse... and Mokuba had sat there only caring that he was being pampered by everyone!

God, he was so selfish!

Mokuba didn't feel the tears coming out of his eyes. Seto noticed that he was crying.

"Mokuba, what's wrong?!" Now Seto was holding him in that authoritive manner that Mokuba loved. "What happened? Are you hurt?!"

Mokuba sniffed, "Seto, I'm so sorry!"

Seto was on the verge of a panic attack. "For what?! Did someone hurt you?! Who was it? Are you alright?!"

"No, Seto!" Mokuba gazed fiercely into his brother's eyes. "I'm sorry I haven't noticed you! I've been so caught up in my own selfish ways! Gozaburo's been pampering me and you've been hurt this whole time! For almost two years!"

Seto finally understood and took a giant breath. "That's the way it should be, Mokuba. You need to be spoiled and treated like a child. Not because I think you're at the level of maturity of that of a child, but because you need to experience your childhood." Seto looked away distantly. "Or at least what's left of it."

Mokuba felt a few more tears leak out of his shimmering violet eyes. "But that's just it, Seto! Gozaburo's taken away your childhood! You act like an old fart all the time now! And it's not because of studying, it's because of something else! I want to know what!"

Seto looked directly into his brothers eyes with seriousness that Mokuba had never seen. "Mokuba, do you trust me?" Mokuba nodded and Seto continued, "Then trust me with this. Gozaburo's not doing anything that I'm not able to handle. If he hurts me in any way, shape, or form, you'll be the first person I run to."

Mokuba stared at his brothers eyes while his mouth hung open. Although the beautiful azure orbs were serious, they were breaking. Seto eyes told the younger that something was wrong, they were on a brink of defeat. About to collapse after holding everything in...

Yet he still had to believe in his brother.

Mokuba didn't know how his mind, his body, his soul was allowing this, but he knew he had to trust Seto, no matter how much it pained him. He had to trust his older brother not only for himself, but for his brother.

"Okay, but promise me," Mokuba returned the seriousness that his brothers eyes possessed. "You will come to me if anyone, even if they're not Gozaburo, lays a finger on you."

Seto smiled a bit sadly, but still, it was something that made his younger brother reassured. "I promise..."

That was probably the biggest lie Seto had ever said. Of course he wouldn't come running to his brother! If Gozaburo hits him or puts that God-forsaken dog collar on him, he'd be crazy to run to Mokuba. That would be the equivalent of him placing Mokuba in between a battle field with tanks and armed men on each side. He just couldn't.

Mokuba hugged his brother. "Thank you..."

"Anything for you..." Seto responded.

Mokuba looked up, expecting his brother to be smiling, but he...

Wasn't...

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **November 18, 2003**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 20:43**

Mokuba was hearing the yelling again.

He absolutely hated it. Seto was yelled at non-stop! And he was hearing it all. He also heard Seto fighting back, to an extent of course, but still he was fighting.

Mokuba couldn't stand it! Again, he was sitting upstairs in his room on his big comfy bed, while Seto was sitting downstairs in a hard wood chair, studying to no end, and being yelled at! Why in the world didn't he have the courage to go down there and shut Hobson and Gozaburo up?!

Mokuba sighed and paced around his room. He had to do something for Seto... He just couldn't think of what...

What did his big brother like...?

He liked chocolate. That was out of the question though. Where in the world would Mokuba find chocolate in a non-junk food house like the Kaiba Mansion?

Seto liked chess. He could always... No that wouldn't work...

Then it hit him. Seto was fond of photographs. He was fond of Duel Monsters. Mokuba had the perfect idea! He could make lockets for both of them. He has a picture of Seto smiling, back at the orphanage. Someone had captured the two brothers smiling and they received the photo. Mokuba still had it, along with some other keepsakes.

Pulling a book from his bookshelf, Mokuba dug his hand around in the now empty space searching for the small hidden door. The raven haired boy wasn't sure if Gozaburo knew about the door, but Mokuba had found it one day while he was searching around the mansion.

It was actually kind of scary. He had searched the whole mansion actually, and found more than one secret entrance to... somewhere. In the library, pulling _The Wind in The Willows_ from it's place made the bookcase drop to the ground revealing stairs. Moving the picture frame in the hallway of the east wing would show you a black hole that looked hand dug, and you couldn't see the end from where you stood. At the back of one of the pantries you'd find a small door resembling the one from _Alice in Wonderland._

It really was creepy, and by then, Mokuba had just stopped exploring for good. He honestly didn't want to find out where they led to. He could've sworn he'd heard something crawling around when he opened the small door in the pantry.

Anyway, Mokuba finally opened the door and got what he was looking for.

Along with his brothers deck, Mokuba also had cards. They were terrible cards so Mokuba didn't really mind giving them up. Especially if it made his brother happier.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **November 19, 2003**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 6:23**

Another late night for him.

Seto was currently in the midst of heading back to his room where he'd catch about a half hour's worth of sleep before he hauled his body out of bed and was forced to face another day head on.

God, he was tired. No that didn't do any justice. Exhausted, sleep deprived, insomniac... It was awful. The brunet didn't even know how he was standing let alone drag himself to his room that he was pretty god-damned sure Gozaburo put it as far away from the study room as he possibly could. If Seto didn't know any better, he'd think Gozaburo liked finding him in a heap in the hallways when he arises form his slumber.

Heh, maybe he could get away with that tonight... He could just fall, right here where he was and fall asleep.

But then again, the sound of a warm bed sounded really tempting.

Seto had entered his room and collapsed on his bed. It only took a few minutes to feel his drowsiness come and he welcomed it with every ounce of his being...

Until he heard, "Seto!"

In all of the brunet's days had he ever been so scared. It didn't process though his head that it was Mokuba's voice and instead his mind instantly thought, "Gozaburo". He had never jumped so high in his life and he was positive he would've screamed so loudly if he hadn't clamped his hands over his mouth at the last second. His eyes had turned small as pins and he was shaking badly.

A figure squirmed out from under his bed and Seto nearly fainted. Well, he certainly wasn't tired anymore, that's for sure.

"Mokuba," Seto pinched the bridge of his nose. It was much too early to be dealing with his brother... "What're you doing here?! Gozaburo or Hobson could've caught you!"

The younger looked sincerely apologetic. "I'm sorry Seto... I didn't think I'd scare you that much, but I made something for you and couldn't wait."

Seto gave a brief look at his watch. 06:37 was the time. He couldn't ignore his brother though. "Alright hop up." Seto shifted over so there was enough room for Mokuba on the bed. Mokuba shook his head, pulling the covers back. "Seto, I know how tired you are. Climb in the covers and I'll present my gift to you."

Seto smiled at his little brothers thoughtfulness and got under the warm covers. "Seto, you like photos, right?" His younger sibling asked while grinning.

"I love them. They preserve the best moments in one's life." Seto smiled sadly thinking about a photo album of his full of his parent's memories. "So, what do you have that you're so eager to give to me?"

Mokuba pulled out two lockets, each in the form of a Duel Monsters card. He handed one to Seto. "I made these."

Seto opened it and couldn't help the grin that crossed his pale face. "This is so nice, Mokuba! Thank you! Where'd you get this idea from?"

Mokuba sighed. "I heard Hobson and Gozaburo yelling at you again," Seto flinched despite himself. "And I never have the courage to go down there and help you because I'm weak."

"Mokuba you're not weak!" Seto protested fiercely.

"I am, but just please listen. That's not really the point." Mokuba continued once he saw that Seto wouldn't interrupt. "Look at this every morning when you come back from your studies. Or look at it if you ever feel alone. Seto, I'm always by your side, and please... Don't give up! Gozaburo may think he got you beat, but you're stronger than him! You're be a better person than he could ever be, no matter how hard he tried!"

Seto's eyes went completely gentle with a warmth Mokuba had never seen before. "Oh my..." Seto gave his sibling a hug. "I love you so much! But seriously," Seto pulled back with a serious glint in his eyes. "don't come here by yourself. Gozaburo could get you into deep trouble."

"I know," Mokuba looked down at the floor. "But you needed this. Your studying all the time and never have time for a lot of things. But it's not me I'm worried about, it's you. You must be so lonely studying all day." Seto nodded, urging his brother to continue. "I feel like your kind of depressed sometimes too. You always look so sad, and the past few day have been rough. I needed to give you these before you get to a point where you think there's no one left for you."

Seto felt the tears pooling at the corners of his eyes. "Thank you little bro... I'll never forget that..."

Mokuba smiled at his brother, cherishing the one he received back. "You better not forget."

Seto's smile was something worth framing.

But just sitting here, happy and enjoying each other's company, Mokuba would've never guessed that this may be the last smile he'll ever see on his brothers face.

Mokuba never saw what was coming.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **November 26, 2003**

 **KaibaCorp 12:00**

Seto sat politely in front of him. His hands were clasped together in a neat manner resting atop the table, and one of his legs was folded over the other. The man sitting across from him was seated in a similar fashion.

"So, you want to train here more often?" Gozaburo took a drag of his cigar.

Seto resisted the urge to gag. "Yes, and preferably by the Big Five. It would be beneficial for my future as KaibaCorp's CEO, no?"

Gozaburo rubbed his chin in a thoughtful manner. "Yes indeed it would. Now what I'd like to know is why? Why is there a sudden change in your routine?"

Seto looked for the right answer. It was true that only recently a plan had formed in his head. He was sick of Gozaburo and studying. He'd had enough of it. To take over KaibaCorp, it's easier said than done. He'd spent time here at the building, but never got a feel for what it's like. He needed to find out his enemies and get closer to them. He needed to get inside everyone's head and make them think he's a friend, although he's planning on destroying every person standing.

Yes, he planned to take over KaibaCorp starting today.

Seto didn't know how long it would take, but he knew he'd accomplish it.

"It's just as I said. I need to get a feel for everyone in here, know what it's like from the inside out. Only then will I be able to run KaibaCorp with power and authority."

Apparently, that was exactly what Gozaburo wanted to hear. "I don't see why not... Yes, I think this arrangement would be very benificial."

"So, starting Monday I can start attending meetings with you and working with KaibaCorp's employees." Seto looked him straight in the eyes.

Gozaburo gave a mix between a tsk sound and a chuckle. "It's settled then. Monday, you can start coming here."

Seto stood up in his crisp white suit and bowed politely. "Thank you."

Gozaburo watched as the younger boy left the room. "Seto," he called over.

The boy stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Yes?"

"Don't leave any obstacle left standing. Destroy them all."

Seto eyes widened and his heart beat through his chest for a fraction of a second, before narrowing down. He made a 'Mhmm' sound and closed the door behind him.

The brunet allowed himself to be scared again. Did... Gozaburo see right through him? Those words... It sounded like he knew exactly what Seto was planning to do, yet he's so calm... Why?

Well he didn't exactly have time to ponder over it.

Seto to took a deep breath and lifted the locket from under his shirt. He opened it and looked directly at the component inside. He cherished the moment that was captured through the tiny slip of paper. He smiled and thought hard on what he was doing.

Did he really want to go through with this? Did Seto really want to take Gozaburo out for good? Honestly, the thought scared him a little. But he knew he had to. The advantages were too high to throw away and Seto knew Gozaburo was planning something, and he and every right to be suspicious after that sentence of advice given to him on his way out.

He inhaled sharply and exited the building with his head raised high.

Yes, he'd do it.

Not only for his sake, but for Mokuba.

He'd defeat the obstacles in his way and would bring down an unsuspecting Gozaburo in the most humiliating way. Seto Kaiba would live up to his name and take over KaibaCorp.

With one last breath, he put the locket back in its rightful place and knew he'd have to move forward.

Seto pushed the memoriam photo of his brother to the back of his head, forgetting his smiling face and for the first time ever he was accepting the fact that he'd have to leave his past behind...

And search for a better future.

* * *

 _"A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know."_

 _-Diane Arbus_


	7. Chapter 7

**o-O-o**

 **Chapter 7: Two Cents**

 **o-O-o**

 **December 1, 2004**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 18:00**

Seto was changing, and Mokuba was noticing.

It's been a long time since Mokuba last saw his brother smile. Since the day that Mokuba gave his brother the lockets he hasn't seen the older smile once. Another year older and Seto seemed more miserable and depressed than he used to be. Although, Mokuba did have to admit Seto was definitely benefiting from his time at KaibaCorp.

Seto would explain to him how stocks worked, and how war machines operated, and more... Mokuba hardly ever understood any of what Seto was explaining to him, but he listened anyways. That was all Seto ever talked about now, so Mokuba was willing to listen.

Glancing up from the steak he was eating, the raven haired boy closely examaned his older brother. He looked so lonely...

Seto was hardly eating. The brunet was pushing his food around with his fork. His eyes held a solemn look within its depths and they didn't look nearly as bright and cheerful as they once were.

Mokuba bit his lip and looked towards Gozaburo; the man who was causing the change in Seto. He was the creator of everything Seto was beginning to become. Mokuba hated his stepfather with a burning passion. He looked away when the rich buisness man sneered at him.

Seto suddenly stood up. "May I be excused?"

Gozaburo raised a brow, then hummed as if to say yes. "Yes. Go."

Seto left without a word to his brother or the older man. Mokuba held his gaze on the older until his figure was out of sight. What was wrong with Seto?

The older was obviously hurting. He was obviously depressed. Mokuba felt absolute bitterness towards his stepfather. How could a person do something like this to another human being? Only a monster could. He just hoped Seto knew not to give up.

Mokuba was seeing change. It wasn't good. The Kaiba part of Seto was erupting with a vicious uprise in power. The child in Seto was being pushed back, though not by choice, Mokuba knew. There would always be a child left in Seto, no matter how bad it got. That little fragment that would love to play another round of Duel Monsters, or would love to beat someone in chess. The part of him that would do anything to have so damn free time instead of working his butt off.

Mokuba knew Seto was overwhelmed by the Kaiba fraction of his mind, forcefully being pushed in by Gozaburo.

Unfortunately, the ebony haired boy had to wait another forty-five minutes before being excused. Once he did, he left the large dining room to where he had the worst feeling Seto would be.

He was right...

After maneuvering through the long halls of the Kaiba mansion, he found Seto...

In his study room, five text books on the right side of him, six on the other side, and one open in front of him. The room was dimly lit by a couple of lamps, but Seto didn't seem to care. Seto was scowling, mumbling to himself about incorrect calculations and that he's being stupid and childish, and that he wouldn't finish on time...

All Mokuba could do was watch with dispiriting violet eyes and a grim expression on his face.

Seto asked to be excused... for this?

Mokuba came to a frightening understanding. That's what was bothering Seto at the dinner table. He was worried about not finishing his work on time? He wanted so desperately to go in and cheer his brother up, but knew better than to interrupt his brother while he worked.

So without a word, he walked to his room where silence and sorrow greeted him with open arms.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **December 14, 2004**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 20:33**

Seto hated Gozaburo's buisness partners.

They were lying, snarky, and tricky people. They hid behind fake masks as if it were makeup piled up on their face. Their smiles fake, their words fake, their actions, also fake. Everything was so fake Seto wanted to throw up.

But he instantly felt ashamed for thinking that, because he was exactly the same.

He hid behind masks, maybe with more makeup than the others around him. Seto hid behind his fake exterior like some cowering child. That was exactly what he was. He was scared and terrorized on the inside. He wanted his mom and dad to hold him their arms once more, and wanted to be free of Gozaburo's sickening grasp. But his new persona that Gozaburo forced on to him was blocking that child from coming out... and Seto was thankful for that.

He was at a banquet at his mansion, in the large banquet hall, and Seto was meeting Mr. Von Schroedor's child, Zigfried. Seto was standing face-to-face with Zigfried while Mokuba was standing behind him.

"Thanks for ze invitation Mr. Kaiba." Mr. Von Schroedor shook hands with Goazburo. "I'm sure az you know, your son Seto is ze talk of ze town... Andz believe me, I can relate, my son too iz a child prodigy."

Zigfried turned towards Seto. "You look like your az thrilled to be here az I am. Whyz don't we... spize thingz up a bit, hmmm?"

Seto's eyes widened as did Mokuba's. What was he talking about doing? Suddenly, the lights flickered on and off. _"No..."_ Seto thought, _"He couldn't have..."_

"That's strange..." Gozaburo mumbled ignoring the whispers and talk around him. "There must be a short!"

One of Gozaburo's bodyguards came up to him and whispered in his ear, "Our mainframe is infected, sir."

The rich man scowled. "No, there must be some mistake! Check it again! The KC mainframe is protected by a failsafe system! No one can get in!"

Seto who was listening to Gozaburo, turned towards Zigfried with wide eyes and a gasp.

The pink haired boy smiled while his bangs clouded his eyes from sight. "Let's just say I dabble in technology. I guezz when you spend your time all alone, you tend to tinker in your own little projectz." He continued on with a smug smirk. "You know how it iz, herr Kaiba..."

Seto growled at him.

Gozaburo then turned away from the Von Schroedor's. "Come Seto, Mokuba. We'll be leaving for a brief moment before returning. We'll handle this situation."

With that, the Kaiba trio left the banquet hall.

Seto had that same feeling he had when he met Mr. Von Schroedor for the first time. The brunet felt that something bad would happen towards the future with that family. Even now, their companies were rivals, and the only reason the CEO's of each got along was because of those fake smiles and conversations they have had.

The two siblings were told to sit still in a large living room while Gozaburo went who-knows-where to fix the lighting. Seto didn't mention anything about Zigfried because he had a feeling Gzoaburo suspected something. Besides, Seto wasn't a tattle tale.

About twenty minutes later, neither brother had spoken a word, and a bodyguard told them they were to return to the party.

Seto and Mokuba returned to Gozaburo's side once they were led back into the banquet hall like the good kids they were supposed to be.

Seto often wondered while he was at these festivities, what if he told everyone? What if he dropped to floor wailing and screaming at everyone that Gozaburo was hitting him? That the host of this little party was starving him. What if the man they thought was so kind in adopting two orphans was actually a cruel man who made one of those orphans wear a dog collar while he worked until 6:00 in the morning?

Then he'd wonder, why the hell he even thought about doing that? That would be worse than the time he ran away. Gozaburo would go lunatic if that were to happen. He'd probably do more than hit the boy with the ruler...

Seto and Mokuba were listening in on the conversation the two CEO's were having.

"Where were we?" Gozaburo stroked his moustache in thought.

"I waz commenting on your prodigy, Seto... although we can start up wiz zomething new." Mr. Von Schroedor started their conversation. Seto looked towards Zigfried who was wearing a smirk on his face still. His attention got redirected towards the two elders once Mr. Von Schroedor said, "Have youz heard? Ze Von Schroedor company iz about to zign an international contract."

Gozaburo stood still with a raised eyebrow for a fraction of a second, before letting out a thunderous laugh. "You're too late!" At Mr. Von Schroedor's horrified faced, Gozaburo continued, "They've chosen KaibaCorp!"

"N-no!" Mr. Von Shroedor cried stumbling back from shock. "You no good thieves! You can't do that!"

Seto took a look at the youngest Von Schroedor to find the same horrified face.

Gozaburo ignored the man and turned on his heel, walking away from the defeated man.

This time when Seto looked toward Zigfried, he wore the smug smirk.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **August 2, 2005**

 **Kaiba Manison, 06:07**

Seto was working once again late, although not on his studies.

He stayed up late this night to work on his Virtual Reality.

The design was complicated. He was thinking about a pod that have a shifting VR headset. Duel Monster cards could be inserted to a slot where a computer generator would read each card number and set Life Points to an automatic 2000. Inside the Virtual Reality you'd have to complete a quest to win the game, while feeling like everything around you was real.

That wasn't really the difficult part. It was the science behind it that was complicated. All the building and failsafe systems that would be required, and the computers needed a really good main frame, and the Virtual Reality, by no means, can cause sickness that comes with the term Virtual Reality.

Many have tried to prevent this from happening, but most fail at least once.

Seto didn't need to worry about lightweight headsets, because anybody who tried his system out would be inside a pod. There was also the obvious physical harm that Seto didn't have to worry about for instead of everything happening with one headset, they'd be in apod.

The only thing he worried about was the reality itself. There's a huge negative impact on someone's emotional and physiological state. Virtual Realities can lull the imagination and numb the senses of pain and discomfort outside of the Virtual World. Technology is already having a negative effect on people, from the minor injuries, to the deaths of people just from playing a video game for too long.

After writing these notes down, plus going over design, it was about half an hour later, and Seto directed his attlention to a different project.

One day, he hoped to open a theme park, KaibaLand.

It would include a train that ran through the whole park, two ferris wheels, a Blue Eyes White Dragon roller coaster, a Duel Dome, a safari attraction with Duel Monsters instead of animals (holograms, of course), and a whole bunch of average rides that you'd find at another theme park, but only Duel Monsters themed.

Gozaburo had brought up the subject once, and thought that it was crazy and stupid. He said that games couldn't turn the world.

Once Seto took over KaibaCorp, Gozaburo would be wishing he took ideas from Seto a long time ago.

Then again, Seto wouldn't have actually just handed over his ideas to Gozaburo. Even when he presents projects and ideas to Gozaburo, he keeps his info very vague, nevermind handing blueprints and designs to him.

KaibaLand was more of a minor project. He couldn't do anything with what he's thought up quite yet, because even though he lived with Gozaburo Kaiba, does not mean he has the money the rich man has. He didn't know what available land that was actually big enough for a theme park either. Seto also new nothing about building roller coasters or fair rides either, so some people would be dying if he built anything right at the moment.

Once he becomes capable though, Seto will accomplish far beyond what Gozaburo's ever done in his entire life.

Seto can't wait for the day. The day he'd take over KaibaCorp. It would be a glorious moment, really. He will savour the humiliation that Seto will enforce upon Gozaburo when he defeats the old man once and for all. And maybe, this time the rich man will stay down.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **April 23, 2006**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 12:44**

Mokuba was alone, once again. No more visits or chats with Seto anymore.

Seto was fourteen, he was now nine. The ebony haired boy felt so old, yet he knew Seto must've felt older. A few years have passed since Seto stopped smiling, and about five years since they've gottten adopted. It was horrible. Seto's cheeks were sunken in, he was starting to get stress wrinkles (if you could call them that. There weren't very many, but the ones that were there weren't pretty), and he had gotten much taller. Like, it should've been weird for him to grow that much. The strangest thing was, Seto was still growing. Seto's hair grew longer and he had a mess of bangs in front his eyes. Mokuba wasn't actually sure how he saw last it sometimes. It was really weird what else Mokuba noticed, Seto's voice changed. A lot. His childish voice was gone and a deeper more mature voice took its place.

Mokuba had grown too, actually. His hair got longer and more wild then it had been. Gozaburo has kept pestering him to get it cut and that it was too unnatural, but he personally liked it like that. It made him feel young and it gave him a sense of power. It was weird, but he liked it. Seto had become tied to the white suit, while Mokuba had graduated from his hand-me-downs at the orphanage to a blue collared shirt and black shorts.

It was nearing the end of lunch and Seto never spoke a word to him. He never did anymore. Mokuba sat in his own silent worry, thinking about what he learned a few years back. Something was wrong, Seto was going through something worse than the studying. He wondered if that _something_ was still going on, or has escalated since then.

Mokuba desperately hoped he was wrong.

The younger of the two siblings hoped that his older brother was okay. He really wanted to ask, but he was weak everytime the chance came up. It was always during dinner or mealtimes that he had the chance, but one person stopped him from asking. That person? Gozaburo.

Whenever Mokuba opened his mouth to speak, the man sitting at the end of table stopped him from doing so. Hell, Gozaburo never glanced his way during mealtime, or more like ever, so he wasn't exactly sure what was stopping him from goddamn speaking, but something managed to work its way in between Seto and him and created a thick barrier.

Mokuba sighed looking at his sandwich bitterly. Lunch was practically over considering it was nearing one o'clock, and Mokuba hadn't touched his food. Mokuba looked up hopefully, thinking that Seto might've noticed he wasn't eating and ask him what's wrong, but he was met with a hard glare.

The ebony haired boy bit his lip and turned his head down, trying to fight the tears threatening to escape his eyes in a surging waterfall. When had it changed? Did the lockets make his brother's smile take a 360 degree turn into a frown? No... Seto had been genuinely thankful for the lockets, and he seemed so happy. Maybe something happened afterwards...

After he was done lunch, the two boys were excused by Gozaburo, like always, and departed from the too-large dining table. They both walked through the hallways of the mansion until Seto came upon the study room.

"Bye, Seto..." Mokuba pathetically waved his brother goodbye.

Seto turned around and grunted in response. He was then gone and Mokuba already heard the shouting beginning.

"Your late! You've wasted two minutes of my time! Sit!"

Mokuba bit bit his lip and ran as far as he could, to his room across the mansion where he'd hear no more yelling. Once he was safely locked inside his room he slid down to the ground and cried.

He wanted to help his brother! It wasn't fair what Seto was going through! He was useless though. Times were limited enough as to when the could see each other, and it's not like Mokuba could give something to Seto at mealtimes because Gozaburo would take it away. And oh my god, he dared not to step anywhere near the study room while Seto was working. That'd be like putting yourself in front of a train going top speed.

Mokuba was so lonely. Sure, he went to school during week days, but on weekends he had no one to play with. Even during school, he wasn't as smart as his older brother so he was labeled as 'loser' at school. He had only a couple of friends, and he couldn't play with them after school.

So yeah, he was crying. Screw the fact he was nine. He wanted to cry his heart out, so he would.

Why couldn't he just do something? Mokuba couldn't even work up the courage to say "hey, how was your day?"! He couldn't do diddly squat and he hated it! But he couldn't place the blame on anyone else though except himself.

Sure, Gozaburo would have a meltdown if Mokuba gave his brother something to cheer him up, but that never stopped Seto before. Seto had defied and sacrificed himself to Gozaburo a lot of times.

So why couldn't he?

He cried harder. He was so stupid! He wouldn't do anything! Seto could be suffering for the rest of his life, and he just knew he'd never do anything.

The water works finally stopped after a while, but hiccups surfaced instead. He wiped the damp spots on his cheeks and decided to do something productive. He grabbed a notebook from his backpack and did some math homework from school.

He sat for the rest of the day, in his room, listening to the empty silence that had no mercy on invading his loneliness, making it deeper by the second.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **July 7, 2007**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 15:54**

This hurt a lot more than anything that Mokuba faced before.

He was crying his heart out in his room while Seto studied.

Yeah, it was his brithday. No one knew about it. Not even Seto...

At lunch time, he expected Seto to say something to him, but nothing happened. Seto never once glanced in his direction during lunch and hasn't said anything all day.

Yeah, it hurt.

No presents, no hugs, no 'happy birthday' from anyone... Nothing at all.

So, here he was, on his birthday his 11th birthday, and sat in his own grief and silence. Well, except for the loud sobs that echoed off the walls of the room.

When had it changed? His brother would turn sixteen this year, his sweet sixteen. This year, 2007, dosen't feel all that special. With each new year to come, Mokuba always wishes that something would change. His wishes recieved answers, but not the answers he typically expected.

No, he expected Seto to magically change into a happy kid like he used to be. He expected Gozaburo to suddenly be nice to them, maybe let Seto have some days off from studying. He expected Seto's frown to turn upside down into the grin that made a luminous glow throughout the world.

But the earth does what it does best and makes the total opposite happen.

It didn't matter anyways. The raven haired boy knew his expectations were too high anyway.

I guess he'd have to get used to it. Gozaburo didn't seem to be leaving anytime soon, and even if Gozbauro did leave somehow, Seto would still be changed.

Seto changed for the worst, and it's a change that will stay with him for the rest of his life, no doubt. Even though Seto indirectly hurt him this day, along with the sadness and heart ache he felt, Mokuba also felt a large pang of sympathy for his older brother. Gozaburo had engraved into his mind, so much that now Seto was practically a robot that uses studying and sadness as its power source.

"No...!" Mokuba wiped away his tears with his sleeve. He can't feel bad for Seto! Not after today!

He can't feel bad! He... cannot by any means feel bad for Seto! It's not his fault! He... felt bad for... Seto.

The smaller boy wanted to punch himself in the face. Why was he so weak? Why can't he just go tell Seto he was sad?

Mokuba's eyes widened. That's what he'd do! Screw Seto's studying! He'd barge in there and demand for Gozaburo to hand Seto over to him for the day!

Not the most brilliant plan (not even close), but it'd have to work!

Mokuba hopped from his bed and padded silently across his bedroom to the door. Opening it loudly, he stepped outside his room and made his way to Seto's study room. He was furious! At Gozaburo or Seto he wasn't sure yet, but he was mad! How could Seto forget his birthday? Even a simple smile in his direction at the lunch table would've made the younger happy! Oh right, he forgot. Seto doesn't smile anymore.

"Please, Gozburo! Let me see Mokuba! It's his birthday today!"

At the sound of his brother yelling, the raven haired boy took a left going to the end of the hallway where Gozaburo's office was. He stopped outside the large wooden doors and listened closely to thier conversation.

"No! That's your weakness, Seto!" Mokuba felt a shiver run down his spine at the sound of Gozaburo's chilling voice. "You need to learn not to love that boy! He's your weakness!"

Mokuba felt a odd pang of an indescribable feeling stab his heart. Seto doesn't believe that... Does he?

Mokuba was grateful when he for his answer. "My weakness?" He heard Seto scoff, "My only weakness is not getting enough sleep! Please, he's just a kid! He deserves to spend his birthday happy and not miserable!"

Mokuba grinned happily. Why had he ever doubted his brother? Of course Seto didn't forget his birthday. Gozbauro was making him study instead of spending time with him.

Terror ran through his form though, all happiness dusted away when the ebony haired boy heard Seto cry out in pain. "DO NOT ARGUE WITH ME, SETO!"

Mokuba's eyes went wide, and he covered his mouth to stop himself from screaming out. Gozaburo was _infuriated._ Oh, God, Seto... The younger brother's form quivered with fear. What the hell was Gozburo doing to his brother?!

"No, listen to me, father." Mokuba inhaled sharply, and for the first time in forever, wished his brother wouldn't fight for his sake. "Mokuba needs someone to tell him happy birthday today, at least that! Could I have ten minutes with him, please?"

A crash was heard and Seto yelped. Mokuba screamed himself, though he was certain Gozbauro or Seto didn't actually hear him. "SETO, I SAID STOP ARGUING! WHAT'S SO HARD TO UNDERSATND ABOUT THAT?! YOU SPOILED BRAT, LEAVE MY SIGHT, **_NOW_**!"

Mokuba only had a minute to move out of the way before the wood doors opened, and Seto was thrown out against the opposite wall. The doors then slammed shut, leaving the two outside the doors in complete silent, except for the older brother's sobbing.

Mokuba crawled quickly to his wailing brother. "Seto, don't cry!" Ignoring the surprised expression given to him by his brother, he took Seto gently into his arms. "You're okay... Gozburo can't get to you anymore..."

Mokuba looked a little surprised himself. Seto was showing the first human emotion in a few years, although not the one Mokuba was particularly wanting to see. It hurt to see his brother in such a state. Mokuba wanted to cry again...

Seto quieted down quickly and pulled himself up from the floor quickly and hoped Mokuba didn't notice how much pain he was in. "Happy birthday, Mokuba. Sorry about lunch."

Mokuba smiled though his own tears. "It's okay Seto. Spending time with you is the best gift I could ask for..."

The younger boy looked up at his brother imagining the smile he remembered from years ago...

But instead was met with agony and hatred.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **August 12, 2007**

 **KaibaCorp, 13:40**

Seto hated working at KaibaCorp. Actually, scratch that. He hated working at KaibaCorp with Gozbauro standing over his shoulder like he was supposed to his shadow. That might be accurate, if you think about it. Gozburo already made him a pawn on his chessboard.

Everyone on Gozaburo's chessboard was like that. Gozaburo was the only king, the rest were pawns that help him achieve his nasty goals.

Back on track, Seto hated it when Gozaburo would command him to do something. He especially had taken a disliking to the richman when he made Seto fire someone.

So, here he was, in a small room, the air conditioning on high and a comfortable silence settling between a 15 year old boy and a 32 year old man.

"So," Seto decided to make a hateful job more pleasant by drawing it out longer. "How are you today?"

The man stammered his response, "G-great, sir. How was yours so far?"

Seto internally sneered. Pathetic old man. He wasn't even sure why Gozaburo hired such useless people? Maybe he hired them just so he could get Seto to turn around and fire them anyways.

"Alright, we are here to discuss a problem that's been bothering our company." Seto glared icily at the man. "You've been spouting off KaibaCorp's designs and blueprints for war machinery."

The older gulped and stuttered, "N-no, of course I wouldn't d-do that! That would be disrespecting Mister Gozaburo and his company."

Seto smirked, amused at the display the man was putting on. "Tell me truthfully, do you think I'm stupid?"

"No, sir. Of course not, sir!" The man blinked in confusion at the question.

All traces of a smirk left Seto's face. "Then please be so kind to explain to me why I'd believe you?!"

"Because I'm telling the truth sir!" The employee was desperate now. "Please, sir! You've got to believe me!"

"I'm sorry, but I think your time here is through." Seto stood and began to walk to the door.

"Please, no! I have a family to take care of!" The man pleaded with him.

Seto felt a pang of sadness for what he was doing. This wasn't right. This man hadn't done anything except for being a little pathetic in Seto's presence. And since this man had a family to take care of, Seto felt a wave of empathy wash over him with a huge amount of force. He felt so guilty doing this.

"My desicion's made." Seto quickly exited the room and made his way towards Gozaburo's office. Everyone greeted him on his way there with "good afternoon sir," or "Mister Kaiba, are you having a pleasant day?".

Seto smiled inwardly despite himself. One day, all this would be his. One day, he will be own this company, and he'll rise up to be a better CEO than Gozaburo ever was. Some day, it wouldn't be a company that made weapons to destroy countries, but a company that let others enjoy games.

He couldn't wait for that day.

Seto approached Gozaburo's office and knocked. He entered when he heard "Come in,"

He stepped inside the office and closed the doors behind him. The brunet stood staring at the older man.

"Did you fire the man, Seto?"

Seto nodded politely like he was told to do. "Yes, Father."

Gozaburo nodded in satisfaction. "Good."

Seto stood awkwardly and silently for a couple of moments. Gozbauro proceeded to shuffle papers around and ignore the boy in front of him. "Why do these random employees get fired?"

The buisness man looked up from his papers. "Seto, these people are a disgrace to the KaibaCorp name. They have betrayed me somehow."

Seto scowled. "You and I both know that that's a flat out lie."

"Is it?" Gozbauro raised a brow. "What proof do you have to show me otherwise?"

Seto struggled for an answer. "So what?" He finally decided on an answer. "These people have families and children to take care of. Firing them takes way their only source of money, which they need to live on."

Gozaburo snorted in pure amusement and with a sour sense of humour. "You think I care?"

"Oh, right," Seto rolled his eyes. "Forgot you were a heartless monster."

Gozaburo snapped his head angrily in Seto's direction. "I can't really say I have much patience for you today. Get out of my sight."

Seto stormed out of the room.

Fine, it didn't matter. One day, he'd be telling idiots to get out of his office. One day he'd be running this company. One day, he'd rise above Gozaburo and leave him behind forever.

He hoped that day is soon.

* * *

 _"We all live in a house on fire, no fire department to call; no way out"_

 _-Tennessee Williams_


	8. Chapter 8

**o-O-o**

 **Chapter 8: Three Cents**

 **o-O-o**

 **October 25, 2007**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 9:00**

In the time that they've spent here, Gozaburo has never once celebrated either of their birthdays. He said birthday parties were childish, and everyday on his birthday, Gozaburo made him study despite there being reason for celebration. Then again, maybe there wasn't reason to celebrate. It's like New Years. All you're really doing is celebrating another year that you're living.

It was Seto's sixteenth birthday, and Seto was growing more by the day. His voice was now very deep, and he had grown more than he had been during August. About one inch taller and he'd reach Gozaburo's height.

So, yeah. Seto was abruptly woken up that morning by Hobson and told to meet Gozburo in his conference room, in suit. Mokuba was to attend as well.

He was confused.

Calling Seto to meet wasn't all that odd, but wanting Mokuba to attend as well? That's weird. So he found himself seated beside his younger brother with their adoptive father sitting at the head of the table. A member of the Big Five, Leichter, was standing to the left of where Gozaburo sat.

"Alright Seto," Gozaburo started their conversation. "as of today your formal education is over. It's time for you to start learning lessons in the real world." Without giving Seto time to respond, he continued. "Now I have something to give you."

What's he up to? Seto knew he wasn't receiving a present. Hell, he'd pay to see Gozaburo give a birthday present to someone! The brunet raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He could feel the curiosity radiating off Mokuba as well. He obviously wasn't the only one who was suspicious.

"I think you'll be quite pleased with it." Gozaburo smiled, maybe amused at himself. Seto couldn't tell what the older man was thinking. "Hobson, present Seto with his gift of ten million dollars."

Hobson wheeled in a cart and stacked on top was paper bills, neatly packaged with papers holding them together. Seto allowed a gasp to escape his lips while he heard Mokuba give something close to a squeak. He instantly narrowed his eyes. Now he was cautious beyond belief. Gozaburo isn't a nice person, meaning he would just hand over ten million dollars.

"Relax you two!" The man gave a humourless chuckle while Mokuba's happiness crumbled. "Everything in life comes at a price, so if you think I'm just handing this money over to you, think again!"

He snorted inwardly. Of course, Gozaburo would never give him ten million dollars for the heck of it.

Gozaburo smiled wickedly. "I'm lending this small fortune to you as a test!"

"A test?" Seto's eyes turned into slits. Why did every single thing have to be a test?

"That's right!" Gozaburo have a thunderous chuckle. "You have exactly one year to return the money to me, but you must pay me ten times that amount next year!"

Seto made a sound of surprise. One hundred million dollars?! Hell, that's a lot of money, and in one year?! Mokuba had risen out of his seat a little in anticipation.

"If you pass this test it shows me that you have the buisness skills necessary to call yourself a Kaiba!" Isn't that what he's been doing for the last couple years?! He's been working so hard, yet Gozaburo still didn't consider him worthy enough to be a Kaiba? Seto was pissed off now.

"This is all explained in your contract, Seto." Gozaburo nodded at Hobson, who set a paper attached to a clipboard and a pen in front of him.

"Pass, and you earn the last name Kaiba." At Seto's angry glare, he continued. "Fail and it's back to the orphanage!"

Thats all it took. Seto knew the old man wouldn't have any problem sending them back. In fact, Gozaburo would probably feel like he won the lottery if they went back to where they came from. But they couldn't. Seto didn't work until the sun came up every morning just for everything to crumble all at once. He certainly did not allow his pride to wither away like a dead plant when he wore that dog collar, only for Gozaburo to send him back anyways.

The one thing that made him accept though, was Mokuba. The little one obviously wasn't happy here, but Seto could change that. Once he gained control of KaibaCorp he could give Mokuba the life he deserved. The life he's worked so hard to gain.

The life he'd beaten someone at chess for.

"I accept!"

Mokuba looked at him as if he'd just grown a head, while Gozaburo had a smug smirk plastered to his face. "Now that's a very wise decision!" Gozaburo closed his eyes while still smirking, which made Seto suspicious. Was there something he didn't know? Gozaburo continued, "On your part."

"My assistant Leichter," Gozaburo nodded his head towards Leichter. "is the only one allowed to help you."

Leichter bowed politely and Seto nodded at the business man.

"You have one year to pass!" Gozaburo laughed evilly, and Mokuba and Seto were sent out of the conference room by Hobson.

Outside in the hallway, Seto turned to Mokuba. "I need to think of a plan." Mokuba nodded in agreement. "How 'bout we meet in my study room after dinner?"

"But don't you have to..." Mokuba trailed off realizing his mistake. "Oh yeah..."

Seto knew what he was about to say. Seto had also become accustomed to going right from mealtimes to studying, but now that Gozaburo's cut off his formal education, no more studying was needed. Now it was all about business.

"Yeah..." Seto trailed off as well, feeling a bit relieved. It was like an invisible force just got magically lifted from his shoulders. No more studying... It was hard to imagine. "So, tonight, after dinner?"

Mokuba nodded, "Yep! See you then, Seto!"

While Mokuba bounced happily back to his room, Seto slowly clambered back to his room. It was so weird... He didn't have to study...

Those words felt foriegn to him. Usually, he'd be worrying about not finishing his studies. He's learnt so much over the five years he's been here, yet only now is he actually processing what he's learned. It used to be about just finishing work, now he could learn freely while actually paying attention to what was being done.

Now, it's time to take what's he learned, and use it to his advantage.

In the study, Seto sat down at his old desk and wracked his brain thinking "How could he make one hundred million dollars in one year? Think, what would... Gozaburo do...? Gozaburo's a business man... he owns a company. Companies make money..."

There's always the option of just using the money to buy a company, then take what profits they earn. That had one flaw though. He had ten million dollars. It wouldn't buy him enough of a good company to actually make one hundred million dollars in one year... He needed a good company...

Or... Perhaps he didn't need a good company. He just needed one that values its employees!

Yes! He had the perfect plan!

He needed cards. That will explain his plan perfectly. One hundred of them to be precise.

Seto headed to his hidden textbook on the bookshelf. Since Mokuba had given him nine Duel Monsters cards a few years back, he had collected since then. He now had over a hundred cards. They didn't all suck either. He had some pretty powerful cards. He also found useful magic and trap cards to use like Crush Card Virus, Monster Reborn, and Polymerization.

Soon after he collected cards, he started making his deck. It revolved around dragons and dark monsters. He personally liked the design of one of his weakest monsters, Saggi the Dark Clown. As said, the cards weak but the design is cool.

Yes, Duel Monsters is his key to everything...

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **October 25, 2007**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 19:22**

True to their word, Seto and Mokuba came together after dinner. Seto had set up one hundred Duel Monsters cards on the ground, and right at the moment, 50 were face up, while the other 50 were face down. Leichter had also joined them, at Seto's request. The brunet needed him for his plan.

"What're you going to do, Seto?" Mokuba asked him with an innocent curiosity "I mean turning ten million dollars into one hundred million dollars in one year seems impossible!"

"Hey don't worry!" Seto assured him. "See, business is just another game!"

Mokuba blinked. He knew Seto liked games, but never before had he heard the words "games" and "business" used in the same sentence.

Seto explained more thoroughly. "Look there are a hundred cards here right?" Mokuba nodded. He understood that part. "Now pretend each card represents a piece of a company."

Mokuba gave him a verbal cue to continue. "Yeah?"

"Well, this is where it all becomes a game." Seto smirked with calculating azure eyes. "The trick is to own more cards than anyone else. If you can do that, you'll control the company!"

"And how many cards do you need to do that?" Mokuba inquired his brother with a piqued curiosity.

"The magic number is 51." Seto flipped over one card at the bottom row of his one hundred cards. Fifty one cards were now face up.

"No one else can ever have more cards than you as long as you own 51 out of a hundred." Yes, fifty one will always be the magic number. "That's how you win!"

It was an excellent strategy, and one that only he could think of. Gozaburo was wrong in teaching him what he knows, because combined with the knowledge Seto already possessed, he'd soon overthrow the CEO of this company and rise on his own.

Seto turned to the elder in the room. "Hey Leichter, I need you to spend all ten million dollars of my money and buy me 51 percent of a company."

Leichter looked surprised. "What kind of company, sir?"

Seto snorted internally. What a pathetic man, only taking orders from others. "Any kind, as long as they value their workers."

Leitcher bowed politely and left the room.

"Seto, that's so smart!" Mokuba praised him and Seto felt more proud than he probably should have been. "Where'd you come up with that idea?!"

Seto smirked. "I thought like Gozaburo. You know, for someone so smart, he's pretty stupid." Mokuba gave him an utterly confused look. "Gozaburo taught me everything he knew about business and added to it by hiring private tutors to educate me. That was his mistake. My knowledge now surpasses him, and that's what will win me KaibaCorp in the near future."

Mokuba nodded and grinned at his older brother. "I've never doubted that Gozaburo's not smarter than you, Seto!"

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **October 26, 2007**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 12:12**

When Seto had told Leichter to buy a company, he meant buy a company soon as possible. He had hoped all morning that the old fool would be wise enough to actually follow the hidden command and buy the company, whichever one that was, soon. He was pleased when he heard a knock on the door to his small office.

"Come in!"

Leichter stepped in to the room bowing politely in the presence of Seto. Like all employees of KaibaCorp, each one was to bow down to anyone with the last name "Kaiba", and bow in their presence.

"Sir, I found and purchased the perfect company." Leichter had a paper stack under his arm as well as a video tape and Seto knew that was information about the company.

"Hn..." Seto raised a brow. "Leichter, get Mokuba into my study room. Bring the papers you have, as well as the projection."

"Yes, sir." Leichter bowed and exited the room. After gathering papers and whatnot, Seto also exited the room and went to his study.

When he got there he snapped down the projection screen and waited a few more minutes before Mokuba and Leichter entered. Mokuba smiled at his brother and took a seat next to him on the small couch, while Leichter put in the tape. The projection lit up the room and Seto saw the picture of the company.

"See, this company is known for treating their employees like family." Leichter explained. Seto was impressed with what Leichter had done, but not enough that Leichter deserved praise.

"How cool!" Mokuba squealed happily. "Your very own company! Is it going to make you all the money you need?"

"That's a good question, you see." Seto smirked triumphantly. "This company doesn't make much money."

"Huh?" Mokuba was confused again with Seto's strategy.

"But there is a way to use this company to get what I need, right now." Seto smirked, and it eerily reminded Mokuba of Gozaburo.

"Force the president to run the company my way." Seto laughed victoriously.

Mokuba's eyes widened. What was Seto planning to do exactly?

"Leichter, set up a meeting with the president of the company." Seto commanded, still smirking triumphantly.

"Yes, sir!" Leichter left, leaving Seto and Mokuba to themselves.

"Seto," Mokuba asked, "what are you planning to do?"

Seto laughed wickedly, "You'll have to wait and see."

Mokuba and Seto waited a few more moments before Leichter came in. "Sir, I have talked with the president of the company, and he will meet with you at 3:00 sharp."

"Thank you." Seto waved him off. "You may leave now."

Seto could've sworn he saw something that resembled a scowl on Leichter's face as he left, but dismissed it.

This was the start of everything. Gozaburo was a fool to lend him that ten million dollars. He gave him the money he needed to start his takeover of KaibaCorp.

Soon, everything would fall perfectly into place.

Soon, the company would be his.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **October 26, 2007**

 **Seiko Corporation** **, 15:00**

Yeah, to say the man was mad was a huge understatement.

The meeting started off fairly pleasant, with "hello's" and "how are you?", until Seto whipped out the fact that he owns 51 percent of their company. Leichter and Mokuba were also there to witness him, so it made it all the more enjoyable.

Seto snorted. He bet the president felt like a real chump, getting his business taken over by a sixteen year old boy.

"I want you to buy the company for tem times the amount I bought it with." Seto commanded, smirking smugly all the while.

"What?!" The man went ballistic. He slammed his palms down on the table. "Why should I buy the company back at ten times the price?"

Mokuba looked at Seto expectantly, and so did Leichter. Neither knew of his plans, and he was going to love how pleased Gozaburo would be with him.

"Because if you don't, I'll shut this place down leaving all your employees jobless!" Seto laughed eerily.

The president's, Leichter, and Mokuba's eyes went wide with shock. Mokuba stared at Seto with a look of surprise, and Leichter looked mildly impressed.

"You are horrible," the president's eyes narrowed, and his voice sounded venomous towards Seto. "and leave me with no choice!"

Seto stood up and grabbed his briefcase. "I expect the money, tonight, in cold, hard cash." Seto paused on his way out the door, looking over his shoulder. "Don't keep me waiting."

He walked out of the building triumphantly, and felt that everything he learned finally was being out to good use.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **October 26, 2007**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 19:04**

Later that night, he got what he expected. Seto was granted with one hundred million dollars from the president. He was honestly proud of himself. It wasn't everyday a sixteen year old boy makes one hundred million dollars in one day. He was sure the word had reached Gozaburo by now, to. Heh, he could only imagine what he's thinking at the moment.

There was another reason to be proud. Seto finally finished the designs for his VR system. Seto had run through it a lot of times, finding no error in it whatsoever!

The pod would have a headset, a deck reader for the duel monster cards, and inside the Virtual Reality you'd be able to fight Duel Monsters, and it would all seem real! No one could get hurt, and no VR sickness could happen because it was a pod!

He planned on showing it to Gozaburo soon, because he was after all, the one who assigned the project to him.

Seto still remembered a few years back when Gozaburo had told him to prove his worth by doing a project.

 _ **"You want to prove yourself?" Gozaburo asked seriously. "You will create something for me then. A project. Make something that KaibaCorp could benifit from. Something that is new, something that only a young fresh mind could come up with."**_

Those were Gozaburo's exact words. He wanted Seto to create something new that KaibaCorp could benefit from. So far, Seto hadn't shown any of his plans to Gozaburo. He was sure Gozaburo would like his invention though, and was positive KaibaCorp could make lots of money off of his invention.

No matter how eager he actually was to present this idea to Gozaburo, he also knew what he could potentially be doing. Giving his plans to Gozaburo means that the old man would have the plans in his possession. He could change whatever he wanted as well as call it his own idea.

That's what made him hesitate from giving it to Gozaburo.

The old man was smart, sure. But if anyone has a better idea than him, he would do anything to call it his own. That included blackmailing, tricking, outsmarting and beating down the people who were actually smart enough to think of that idea. Seto was afraid the man would use his invention for war.

The exact opposite of what he was hoping to achieve.

He hoped to take games to the next level, so that unprivileged kids like him and Mokuba were could have fun playing games for the fun of it. He didn't want to be responsible for the destruction of so many lives and spirits by letting Gozaburo use his ideas for war. He couldn't bear the thought of his machine being used for death.

But, he'd have to show the old man. He would use everything in his power to keep Gozaburo from doing so, if he did. There was still a chance that Gozaburo would hate his idea and just put the papers through a paper shredder. He made extra copies of it just in case that actually did happen.

Seto was still working on KaibaLand too. Now that his formal education was done and over with, Seto could spend his time more freely on projects that he hoped to conclude in the near future.

The feeling of not studying was odd though. He still had a bad case of insomnia from all the mornings he had studied until early. He had troubles going to sleep too because, dare he say it, nightmares. He had nightmares about Gozaburo, Mokuba, and sometimes even his deceased parents.

The scars of Gozaburo's training would last forever, mentally and physically. A dark ring around his neck was permanent, and even though the bruises on his hand were gone, the rectangular shaped scars were marks that would be identifiable to anybody. There was also the mental abuse that Gozaburo forced on him. So many words and advice has been engraved over the years, as in "destroy all obstacles in your way" or heaven forbid the "everyone is your enemy! You can trust no one!"

Over time, he began to believe everything he said, only for the reason that everything Gozaburo had said, was eventually true.

Everything the business man said Seto never believed, until something came up that made the crude advice true. He's never really thought about it, but it was true. Like the first time he met the Big Five, he thought "keep your enemies close." Words taken right out of Gozaburo's mouth. Or the time he met Aspen. "Friends make you weak, but enemies make you stronger." Eito gave him a reason to fight, while Aspen let him lower his guard and eventually was taken away from him.

Then there was the "your weakness is your brother." Seto hated to admit it, but it sadly was true. Seto would give into anyone as long as his brother was safe. That being said, he wouldn't let others exploit his weakness that easily, so it didn't matter if someone was trying to get something he had. Besides, Mokuba being a weakness is good.

That means that his little brother is Seto's pride and strength too.

Mokuba was the one reason he had for working. For breathing, for living. For not giving up. If Mokuba was still alive, Seto was too. To put in simpler terms, even if Mokuba was a weakness, as long as he's alive, then Seto can destroy anyone who gets in the way of his and his brother's path. Including Gozaburo.

Gozbauro was going down, soon.

Seto almost wanted to laugh at how stupid Gozaburo had been, giving him ten million dollars for his birthday. Seto had a plan slowly formulating inside his head, and of course bumps in the plan needed to be smoothed out, but there was definitely one thing Seto was sure of; would rise to become the CEO of KaibaCorp. And even more than that, he wanted to outdo Gozaburo and all other companies, and start up a gaming company.

Along with KaibaLand and the VR system he's designing, ideas were being made for KaibaCorp in the future. He planned to design a Duel Monsters system that was more of a disk. He wanted to make holograms that could be formed, while a deck reader, much like the one used for his VR system, would count Life Points and what the monsters were so that the one a person played was actually on the field.

Then he had to stop and think about a promise he made years ago.

 _ **"One day, I know I'll have the real one in my deck. Just you wait..."**_

Seto had no clue where to start his search. There was only four in the world. There might be one in Japan, but out of all the places in the world, it was very unlikely he'd be able to find even one of them without having to travel somewhere. He could go to the creator and bribe though... Or blackmail...

He's never actually met the creator, Pegasus J. Crawford, but Seto's heard he's quite odd. He loved cartoons and kids games, and when Seto heard his name, he often wondered if the guy was a kid stuck inside an adult body. But then again, those are only rumours.

Seto let his brain shut down and got into his bed.

A nap sounded real nice...

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **November 28, 2007**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 22:06**

When Gozbauro heard about what Seto did, he was surprised. Genuinely surprised.

He expected Seto to make that much money, of course, he just expected it not to be returned so fast. He had to admit, Seto's strategy was smart, and unfortunately Gozaburo hated to realize that he would've never thought of what Seto did.

Years ago, when the business man first saw Seto, he never thought that the boy would be able to stand against his power. So many times Gozbauro had beaten him down to the ground, but Seto always got back up. Gozaburo tried everything he could to keep Seto down, but his efforts were proven useless.

Gozaburo was also aware that Seto was planning something. Some time ago, he gave Seto the advice, "Don't leave any obstacle left standing. Destroy them all."

Even back then, Seto had been planning something. He knew, and gave him that cryptic peice of advice. The meaning being, "don't leave anyone standing. Destroy everyone, including me."

Of, course, he never actually meant for Seto to destroy him. There'd be something wrong if he did that. No, he simply gave _advice_. Advice that for Seto, was most probably impossible for him to accomplish.

Until now.

Gozaburo didn't know what Seto was planning this time. He'd been a fool to teach the brunet everything he knew. The boy now knows everything the business man does, as well as possessing his own knowledge. I mean, the boy had beaten him at _chess_ , for god sakes, at _ten years old._

Now, it was impossible to see through Seto. Before, it was easy. Seto wore a mask that was identical to Gozaburo's. Everything Gozaburo taught him was engraved into his kind. Seto had become a mini-Gozaburo.

Now, the boy made his own mask. A fake one, but still powerful, even he knew. Gozaburo's knowledge for business and Seto's people and street smarts combined made a terrorizing mixture for Gozaburo.

He didn't know whether to be excited for the future, or to be frightened for what was to come.

In his office chair, he turned around and looked outside the window. Thunder and lightning cackled in the distance.

But he was sure of something.

A storm was coming, fast.

* * *

 _"He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still."_

 _-Lao Tzu_


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Sorry for the long wait... Admittedly I had trouble with this chapter and filling every detail into it because this was mostly my own thinking rather than going by the actual show. Thinking what Gozaburo's idea for the VR system he stole from Seto was even harder to write about, and harder to stay in character than any other chapter I've done. Updates should be fast after this, as I've already started or even completed some chapters that take place after this one! Thanks for your patience, and enjoy!

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **Chapter 9: Two Cents**

 **o-O-o**

 **November 29, 2007**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 14:21**

Seto finally had the courage to present what he wanted to Gozaburo. He finally was going to show Gozaburo his VR system to the old man.

He had told Gozaburo he wanted to meet him when he was available he said 2:00, so, yeah... Here he was, sitting across from Gozaburo in his office, papers in his hand and ready to present Gozaburo with what he's been working hard on.

"I don't have all day, Seto." Gozaburo raised a brow at him. "What do you want from me?"

Seto nodded. "Remember a few years back, when you told me to invent something that only I could come up with? That would blow a breeze of fresh air into the business world?"

Gozaburo considered this, "Yes, I do seem to recall that. Have you finished this assignment?"

"I have, and I'd like you to take a look at it."

Gozaburo rubbed his chin in thought before saying, "Yes, why not?" Seto reluctantly handed his paper over to Goazburo who set them aside on his desk. "I'll read them later when I'm not so busy."

Seto nodded. "Thank you... father..."

Seto exited Gozaburo's office with the pressure on his shoulders gone. All that anxiety for a meet that was less than two minutes long. Seto felt silly now that he actually thought about it more carefully.

Seto kept walking until he literally walked right into someone. "Sorry I didn't- Mokuba?"

Mokuba stood up from where he was knocked down on to the ground when they ran into each other, with the help of Seto's hand of course, and giggled, "Seto, what's the rush?"

"Nothing... What are you doing?"

"Actually, I came to see you!" Mokuba said happily.

"Me? Why?" Seto asked genuinely confused.

Mokuba grinned while twiddling his thumbs nervously. "I thought maybe we could go to the park today, you know, the one where mom and dad took us to play when we were younger..."

Seto blinked. What an unusual request... "Sure, umm... Let me put on something more comfortable."

Mokuba nodded and bound down the hallway cheerfully while calling back to him, "Alright Seto! I'll be waiting at the front door!"

Seto shook his head in slight annoyance but remained content anyways. He could never be annoyed at Mokuba. If anything, he felt jealous towards his little brother, jealous towards the childhood he never got to have. But Seto couldn't take that away from Mokuba.

Seto changed into gray sweatpants, a loose white t-shirt, although covering it with a blue sweater. He also put on a blue, black and white ball cap. Looking into a nearby mirror, he almost couldn't recognized himself. But, that was the point. With the media swarming around every corner of domino, he needed to look as normal and hidden as possible. The ball cap was added so he could somewhat shield his face from everyone.

He traveled downstairs and met with Mokuba who was waiting impatiently by the large front door.

"Finally!" Mokuba whined, "You took like, hours up there getting ready!"

Seto rolled his eyes playfully, though did not smile at the comment. "It was less than two minutes!" Seto opened the front door for his brother. "Now come on, let's go."

The two headed far away from the mansion, past most of the main part of Domino. The park their parents used to bring them to is a small one, actually not too far from the orphanage. Seto pushed that thought right out of his mind. He was spending time with Mokuba, not thinking about the god forbidden orphanage.

The park had a slide, a main climbing component, 4 swings, 2 monkey bars and a sand pit. No snow covered the ground yet, despite it being so close to December. Actually, it wasn't cold really, save for a chilly breeze that passed by every few minutes. Nobody was at the park and the grass on the ground was turning a sickly shade of green or the dirt was just clearly seen.

Just how he remembered it...

Mokuba ran straight to the swings and called over to Seto, "Push me, big brother!"

Seto nodded and went behind the boy that was climbing on to one of the swings. Once the younger was secured in his seat Seto used the muscle in his arms (so not much...), and pushed his brother up towards the sky. Once the swing came back down Seto gave one more powerful push before stepping aside so he wouldn't get hit by his brother.

As Mokuba smiled and used his own strength to propel himself forwards, Seto watched in mild jealousy. He could never be like Mokuba again. The company would be his soon as he planned a takeover, and he was much too old to fulfill his lost childhood. Seto's childhood was lost a long time ago, and was never to be found again. Seto could never have that same satisfaction of being pushed by a brother on a swing, or getting help on the monkey bars. No, the only satisfaction he got anymore was from recognition, appreciation, hard work, and determination.

Mokuba used his feet to skid himself to a stop and jumped off the swing over to the monkey bars. While he played, Seto worried a bit. What if Gozaburo didn't appreciate his work? What if the business man thought it wasn't worth it? After all, war and gaming were two very different things, and Gozaburo was definitely leaning towards the war side. Seto was still holding out though, after all, it was his own design so it couldn't be as bad as he thought Gozaburo will think. Gozaburo was the one who taught him everything he knows.

"Seto, can we buy hotdogs?" Mokuba was suddenly right in front of him and pointing towards a lonely hotdog stand with a vendor looking quite bored.

In the middle of November and with hardly no one around Seto would've probably said no. But there was a hope in Mokuba's eyes, a child like spark that made Seto feel happy all over again.

Seto decided to let Mokuba enjoy this one day, free of Gozaburo, the mansion, studies, and obidience and settled for a light, "Of course, Mokie."

It was worth the smile.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **November 29, 2007**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 19:33**

Gozaburo had been vexed when Seto came by his office early in the day. Lately KaibaCorp's milatary equipment has been failing and papers, contracts, and information has been piling on his desk because of it. The business man has been working non-stop to keep the company from falling to the ground.

Now that Seto was done with his formal education Gozaburo could also take a break from supervising him during studies. Because of this he was able to visit Alcatraz more often. The milatary base was doing great but was in need of assistance every now and then, and Gozaburo was free to visit whenever.

He had finished his work just a moment ago and was now looking over the papers that Seto had handed to him. The title annoyed him already; "Virtual Gaming Software".

Gozaburo quickly scanned the first page, not very much caring about it. As he read on though he got intrigued. Seto's plan was brilliant! He would never admit it, but he would have never thought of this himself! The designs were perfected, such as taking into mind people's health and preference mixed with Seto's own experience, intelligence, and designs. Then, the idea itself was marvellous in its own way! Creating an infinite world that has no end, so that you could Duel other people.

That was another thing that impressed him. Seto had managed to design this software so that people could connect with each other, be in the same world at once. The person senses inside the VR system was amazing, at least the designs, being able to touch, smell, see, and hear; although it can only be tested fully once it's been built and someone's been inside it to actually see for themselves.

Of course, Gozaburo would be a absolute fool to use this technology for something as useless as a children's card game. Virtual Realities were just as the name says, Virtual. The day and age of the present was well behind the power and comprehension of building something like this, and the world of war and battle was no different. Trapping opposing sides minds within the depths of a Virtual Reality could make one go insane if in there long enough. You could be killed, trapped within a false sense of what you thought was real, but the whole time was just fake. The business man knew from own experience, if in a Virtual Reality too long, you lose faith in humanity and more importantly you lose your independence, your very own mind.

Yes! This could be the very thing to bring KaibaCorp back up to it's original height, it's original status of the best company in the world! This is revolutionary material, this could make millions and millions of dollars! And Gozaburo had all the credit, right there in his hand. Seto had been a imbecile, passing his papers over to Gozaburo.

Gozbauro could easily trick Seto into not saying a word about it. If Gozaburo passed this off as his own, Seto could easily be manipulated into being quiet about it, blackmail was another and, equally effective way of getting the brat to shut his mouth, and if worse came to worse, threaten not Seto, but Mokuba.

Gozaburo snorted inwardly at the very thought. He told Seto when he was just new to the business world, stop loving Mokuba, stop treating him as if he were the world that you stood on. Had Seto learned to be emotionless like he was and never trust anyone, then Seto might have accomplished a lot of things he hasn't already done, but were possible at one point. The boy had grown significantly over the last 6 years, but that wasn't good enough...

A knock on his office door interrupted his thoughts. "Come in." He called. He was currently turned around in his office chair, facing the window, so he couldn't see who had entered, but he had a hunch he knew exactly who it was.

"This is my office! No one disturbs me here!" Gozaburo spun around in his office to see the young brunet standing there, posture perfect and a hard face of determination placed over the used-to-be childish features.

"I know that, but I'm sick of waiting to talk to you and I have something important to say!" Seto argued against Gozaburo's logic.

"Seto, I'm busy, so please leave now." Gozaburo excused the boy with a wave of his hand and resumed looking at the papers.

"I invented that system so everyone could enjoy games! But father, you want to use it for war?!" Seto let out his anger in a fast wave of fury.

"I said get out of here, did you not hear me." He had underestimated Seto. The boy caught on to his plans before he even finalized anything at all. Even if the boy was just guessing, he now knew the answer, as Gozaburo was not denying the fact.

"The system is not a war tool! I invented it for people to use in the future KaibaLand!" Seto said while raising a fist. His teeth were clenched and his whole body shuddered with surprised rage.

"I SAID GET OUT ALREADY!" Gozaburo threw the papers for the design at the boy in front of him, and Seto ducked for no real reason. The papers fluttered to the ground, and Seto felt a stab of pain in his chest. Gozaburo was treating his papers and him like garbage... The design was perfect and bound to make millions! Seto's frustration built up as he felt tears threatening to leak out of his eyes.

"KaibaLand, it's all nonsense!" Seto felt another peice of his childhood dream being ripped into shreds while Gozaburo continued. "Such ridiculous games have no such use for man! Listen very closely, Seto!" Gozaburo commanded while slamming his palms out flat on the desk in front of him. "Whoever inherits KaibaCorp must make things that are a great use to mankind all around the world! I myself must dominate the world with my milatary business! I want to use your virtual reality to reproduce the territory of the world!"

"But you're wrong!"

The young brunet felt hands grasp his arms and himself being pulled away by Roland and one bodygaurd he didn't recognize. " Let go of me! Let me go! I'm not finished yet! Father!" He was aware the door to the office was now closed and Roland had shooed the other bodygaurd away. "Father..." Seto struggled against the grasp, until he was pulled against someone's chest. Roland was holding him in his arms and comforting the boy.

Seto was shaking with rage, apprehension, sorrow, humiliation... How dare that monster steal his idea and use it for war! Worse than that, he passed the idea off as his own! Seto let out an angry growl as salty tears prickled at the corners of his eyes, his fists clenching against his will.

"Calm down, Seto... I'm sorry about your programming... Your a bright kid, the most intelligent one I've ever seen." Roland pulled back resting his hands on Seto's shoulders, gazing into the bright blue eyes. "You'll find a way around him." Roland leaned close to his ear and words ghosted over his ears. "And if you need help taking him down, I'll be there."

Roland left Seto with a sly smile plastered to his face, while Seto just looked in shock. Did one of Gozaburo's bodyguards just tell him that he'd help betray and take down the CEO of KaibaCorp?! Seto smiled after a while of shock. He would be needing Roland soon.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **November 30, 2007**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 16:24**

He hadn't been down here in a while... Dust collected and rested heavily on every object down there and cobwebs were strung from one side of a wall to another. It smelt of dirt and metal, maybe even rubber smell eminated from within the walls. A large pod sat in the middle of the room, lighting up a light neon blue. Other computers and such were also glowing that same color, while the metal had been coated with dust. The air was stuffy and hot, and was in desperate need of a AC unit.

Despite the dust, dirt, cobwebs, Gozaburo could see a resemblance from 4 years ago when he'd been down here last... He still remembered why everything down here was here...

 _"FATHER!"_

 _"Hold on, son! You can make it!"_

 _Beeeeeeeeppppppp..._

 _"His mind can still be saved..."_

 _"Look, father! I've created a..."_

Gozaburo shook the memories right out of his head. That was long ago, and he was putting his efforts into something... no, someone much greater, much more capable.

Still, coming down here and thinking like that didn't make seeing it any better. The large sphere in the corner, the multiple wires attached to the pod that held the body... He didn't like looking at it...

His son still looked the same he did, 6 long years ago. His hair, body, height, legs... Everything. Hopefully this would be the last time he'd be down here. He needed a new mind, one exactly like his own. His first job would be unplugging the pod in the centre of the room. He went to a computer did some quick reading making everything was perfect before delicately turning the machine off.

He then unplugged the pod and it hissed lightly before the glow in the room died down. Next would be uploading his own mind to the pod. Gozaburo heard a gasp and a stumble. Outraged, he turned around.

When he looked back, he caught a blur of black hair dissapearing around the corner.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **November 30, 2007**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 23:06**

Seto was overjoyed when he remembered that he made his own copy of the Virtual Reality had the same fresh, crisp sheets of paper that stated and put a claim on his invention. Not Gozaburo's invention, _his._

He was planning to take down Gozaburo soon. He needed to form a strategy though, one that was fool proof. Roland already said he'd help with whatever he planned to do and Mokuba was most certainly help him, whether that be direct or indirect. He needed more help though... He had a thought about some certain people, but it wasn't a final desicion.

The Big Five. These business sleezeballs have been with KaibaCorp longer than he knew, and Seto knew they were Gozaburo's most trusted employees. They managed everything in KaibaCorp while Gozaburo designed and built. It was a perfect work in harmony, the best team of brains and brawn.

Seto also knew they were smart. They were extremely tricky and intelligent which made a deadly and terrorizing combination. He learned a long time ago that he should keep his enemies close, and the Big Five were definitely a enemy worth keeping around for a greater service later on, of course, a service that would benefit him.

Now it it was the plan that needed working on, now that the pawns on his chessboard were placed. The strategy he would need to beat Gozaburo down for good. He needed to take in Gozaburo's character and personality traits first. Intelligent, tricky, direct, arrogant, narcissistic, attention-seeking, manipulative... these were all words to describe him.

Obviously, he is not a man to be trustworthy. Anything the business man says from now on is to be ignored. Every single word that comes out of Gozaburo's mouth was not to be listened to until the company was his. Gozaburo was manipulative, and anything he said could throw him off guard.

Now, the man's weakness was narcissism, attention-seeking, and a need for control. All these could be bent and changed until you had the business man in fluster. Letting Gozaburo think he was winning meant he'd lower his guard and grow cocky, over confident with himself. He'd underestimate his opponent until it's too late and he was already losing. Seto knew that was a weakness back when he saw Gozaburo on the old TV back in the orphanage. The way Gozaburo had been holding that chess trophy, the way he smiled at every camera... For so long Gozaburo scoffed at Seto for having a weakness, while he failed to notice his own.

Seto took down notes while thinking on this subject. Yes, this could be a big part of his plan.

In order to own a company, you need to own more of the company's percentage as you can get your hands on, or a least more than any other person has. The absolute minimum was 51 percent, and Seto was honestly happy with that. If he could approach Gozbauro while owning 51 percent the business man would immediately think inside his mind and heart that he's lost against Seto. He'd give up and now that Seto had this advantage a strategy quickly formed in his head.

He never actually took the time to study Gozaburo's character, only seeing the man for what he was acting or doing in a moment Seto witnessed. Now, thinking overall about how Gozaburo operated and thought, it made sense.

The dog collar he was forced to wear may not have been for sheer enjoyment and amusement, but merely as a way of showing his power over him... There could be abuse lingering in Gozaburo's past that forced him to need control over others; just maybe the hitting, slapping, studying, starving, sleep deprivation wasn't to feel excitement and joy over the actual abuse, but rather overpowering and feeling that your above the victim and Gozaburo was reliving what someone did to him at one point or time in his life and to get over his past, he needed to force that pain onto someone else.

Seto, no matter how much he hated the older man, couldn't help but feel a sharp pang of empathy run though his body. He came to the conclusion, good or bad, that he and Gozaburo were a lot alike. They don't feel worthy of power, love, trust or appreciation from anyone around them so they proved themselves through overpowering and making other people feel how they do.

No... Seto shook his head ridding himself of such thoughts.

Gozaburo and him had a lot of things in common, but one thing set them very far apart.

Seto to still had his emotions, no matter how repressed and pushed down they were. He could feel. Although rare, Seto still could feel hurt, joy, happiness, sadness, grief, loneliness... Gozaburo had pushed them out completely, and no emotion showed through him anymore. Any emotion that appeared on the business tycoons face was fake.

But that's everybody, right? Everybody has a secret, some deeper than others, and every single person the planet hid there problems behind fake masks. Some people put on a fake smile after they've got hurt in some way, others put on a mask of over dramatization after they've been happy and blow things out of proportion. Whatever the scenario may be, everyone stared in their own theatre, each playing the main character and all hidden by fake masks, costumes, and personalities.

Seto closed his notebook and got ready for the upcoming month.

December was coming which meant Christmas, and New Years. Hopefully the upcoming 2008 would be a whole new fresh year, a year that he could celebrate in victory, one that would let people know that KaibaCorp would be a gaming company now.

Seto to was going to take over KaibaCorp, and everything from here on out was war. Between him and Gozaburo, the fight for control over KaibaCorp was going to be a long, hard battle to face, each opponent very strong, smart and determined. Seto was fighting for something greater though.

He will be, and has been battling for the future, not for him, but for his little brother. The 6 years he's put up with Gozaburo have been for Mokuba's sake; so his little brother can get the life he deserved, the childhood Seto never experienced. Some choices he has made were not the greatest, but he doesn't regret anything. He's worked too hard and too long to give up now.

Of course he had his doubts and fears, but that was living. Fear defines us, it shows us that no man on earth is not afraid of something. Everyone needs fear to show them it can be conquered and that we can move past it. Each person on earth doesn't fear the bang, just the apprehension before it.

Seto lost the will to fight the fear a long time ago, instead pushes it down. He liked it better that way, but it still showed, to accomplish his goals, he needs to crash into some obstacles along the way. By taking the road that's easier you try to avoid what future has in store for you, but you run into a worse one instead. Nothing is easy in life, and this is no exception.

Seto knew though, he would be in control of KaibaCorp by the New Year, one way or another.

* * *

 _"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."_

 _-Eleanor Roosevel_


	10. Chapter 10

**o-O-o**

 **Chapter 10: Five Cents**

 **o-O-o**

 **December 1, 2007**

 **KaibaCorp, 08:55**

"Seto, as KaibaCorp's board of directors, we're curious why you called us here..." Johnson spoke up.

Yes... The day finally arrived. Seto had called the Big Five to meet. He had a final plan, and nothing would stop him from what he was going to do. KaibaCorp would finally be his.

"Let me get straight to the point." Seto had no time to waste on idiots. "You're all very talented men yet my father treats you like dirt. That's why I've come to you today with a proposition you be a fool to refuse."

The Big Five eyed him warily, all the while Seto smirked. "Sign on to my plan, and we'll rule the KaibaCorp corporation as a team."

"What exactly is your plan?" Nezbitt asked him.

"All you need to do is keep buying pieces of KaibaCorp. I can take care of the rest."

He had his plan finalized. He'd buy out pieces of KaibaCorp and keep gaining pieces until he reached 49%. At that point, Mokuba was needed. Seto would leak information to Gozaburo, but blame it on Mokuba. Unfortunately, he'd have to let Mokuba run to Gozaburo's side, letting Gozaburo think he's winning, while in reality, Mokuba would stay on his side and give him the two percent he needed in the end to reach 51%.

That was the one thing Seto was scared of though. He didn't want to use Mokuba for this plan, especially if that meant betraying his trust in the process. But... He's the one he's doing this for. Not for the Big Five and not for himself. Everything he's done in the last 6 years has been for Mokuba.

"Do we have a deal?" Seto asked.

The Big Five eyed each other before Crump nodded. "You have a deal, Seto. Don't let us down."

He nodded and waved his hand for them for to leave.

Ahh... Everything was falling right into place. The tables were turning. Seto was the king on the chessboard while Gozaburo was one of his pawns.

It was perfect.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **December 3, 2007**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 15:09**

Just like that, KaibaCorp was becoming his. Piece by piece the Big Five and him were buying out KaibaCorp. Heck, just in the two days they've been working the Big Five and him had already managed to obtain 9%. It seemed so little, but thinking about the fact that this was KaibaCorp, eased his worries a little. He had all month to finalize his plan...

He turned the last of the nine cards upwards. Seto had set down 100 Duel Monsters cards neatly in his office, and everytime a piece of the company was bought by them, he'd flip a card over.

Seto was well aware of the body beside him, peering curiously at the cards and his brother. "Seto, what are you going to do if you get 51 percent of KaibaCorp?"

Seto answered Mokuba straight away. "Not if, when I obtain 51 percent I'll switch this company over for the better."

Mokuba blinked, obviously confused. "How are you going to do that?

Seto thought about it. "I want to open a chain of theme parks, for the unprivileged kids like we had been."

Mokuba smiled as he remembered. "Like the one we made in that sandbox back at the park at the orphanage. What did you call it? KaibaLand?"

"Yes," Seto said still concentrating on the cards in front of him. "I also made a promise years ago that needs to be fulfilled."

"What promise is that, Seto?"

"I had promised to you and myself that one day, I'd have all three Blue Eyes-White Dragon's in my deck. That I will have the most powerful deck in the world."

Mokuba giggled, "That's great Seto!"

"Thanks, Mokuba." Seto appreciated how highly his brother thought of him. "Mokuba, could you please exit the room for a little bit? I need to speak with Roland privately."

Mokuba looked suddenly down but nodded nonetheless. "Of course, Seto. I'll get him for you."

Seto was alone with his thoughts for a few minutes after that, before Roland came in. "Mokuba said that you would like to see me privately, sir?" Roland asked bowing slightly in his presence.

Seto nodded, finally looking up from the cards that lay on the carpeted floor. "Yes, I did. I gather you have no idea about what I am planning, right?"

"No, sir." Roland replied, and if Seto wasn't seeing things, Roland almost seemed... excited.

"Okay, then let me go over the basics of it. The Big Five and I are taking over KaibaCorp by obtaining pieces of the company. Our goal, 49%."

"Sir, forgive me for asking but isn't that less than half of the company? Gozbauro would still have more."

"That's where you come in." Seto smiled wickedly. "I need you, Gozaburo's most trusted bodygaurd, to leak my plan to him, slowly though." Roland looked confused, so he continued to explain. "We both know well enough that Gozaburo loves winning, correct?"

Roland nodded and responded with full sincerity. "Of course, sir."

"Then the trick is to let him think he's winning. Gozaburo puts his guard down and tends to underestimate his opponent if he gets too cocky. That's where he would fail. By leaking the plan to him, he'll think he's having an advantage over me by knowing my strategy."

Roland pursed his lips, looking still in mid-thought. "I still see a fault in that, sir. Gozaburo knows I'm working with you right now. He'd know that if I came to him with information that it could be a trap."

"That's why I'll blame it on Mokuba." Roland gasped and looked shocked, and Seto continued, a slight bit more hesitant, "Mokuba trusts me, a lot. By blaming him on it, he'll run to Gozaburo for comfort. That will be showing Gozaburo that I look like I don't know who's spilling the information and will think that you're betraying me and not him. In the end, Gozaburo will get over confident and think that with the 49% that he'll also obtain as well as us, he thinks that with Mokuba owning two percent of KaibaCorp, my brother will hand it over to him, making him own 51%, while in reality, my brother will give it to me. But he'll never know a thing."

Roland bit his lip still looking mildly stunned. "Sir, this is a brilliant plan, but... are you sure you're willing to hurt your brother like that. He might not forgive you after..."

Seto's eyes softened with a bit of hesitation and regret. "I... am aware of that... But I hope in the end he knows I'm doing this not for me, but for him. I'll definitely apologize after because he's my brother and I care about him... I just really hope he can forgive me..."

Roland almost smiled at the gentleness in Seto's voice. "Sir, what exactly are you planning on doing to him?"

Seto looked back down at the cards with an intense stare. "I'm not sure yet."

"Alright," Roland agreed to the plan and nodded his hand. "I'm in. What is my first job?"

"Nothing right now, Roland. Thank you for helping." Seto really did appreciate the help of Roland. Without him he wouldn't have anybody trustworthy enough to do Roland's job.

Roland bowed and left the room.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **December 6, 2007**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 11:49**

14% more of KaibaCorp was in his hands now, and Seto couldn't be happier. Everything was falling into place perfectly as if he were playing a really good game of Tetris. The Big Five were clueless as usual, Roland was doing an excellent job in betraying Gozaburo, and Mokuba was playing along just like he wanted... which wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Mokuba was a large part of his plan but he couldn't help but feel reluctant to send his brother into the chaos and misery of being betrayed by the one person he trusted throughout the orphanage and the Kaiba household in the last 6 years. He now knew what exactly he was going to do to make his brother run to Gozaburo, but it didn't make doing it any easier.

Mokuba was his brother, the only person he trusted and cared for in the entire world. Seto was going to have a hard time doing this, but in the end, he hoped his brother knew this was for his benefit, not Seto's.

Seto to was doing everything right now for Mokuba, and god forbid it doesn't work then Seto knows he and Mokuba will be sent to the orphanage, once again to live the sadness and loneliness over. He couldn't let that happen to Mokuba; the young boy's suffered enough for a lifetime.

Seto finished flipping the 23rd card lying on the ground. He noted bitterly that he still didn't have any of the Blue Eyes-White Dragons.

With all that's been going on with Gozaburo and taking control of KaibaCorp, there was no time for searching. He still had no leads on where they could be anyways. He figured at least one was with Pegasus, the creator of Duel Monsters. He needed a minimum of three, because that's the amount of copies he could have in his deck. But obtaining the fourth would also be necessary so that no other Duelist could challenge him with it.

He was aiming for a power deck, filled with some of the strongest monsters and strategized combos of magic and trap cards. His deck would be the most powerful in the world and absolutely no one would be able to beat him at Duel Monsters. He already has some important cards like Monster Reborn, Lord of Dragons, Kaiser Sea Horse, Kaiser Glider, Flute of Summoning Dragon

Someone knocked on the door and Seto called aloud, "Enter."

Roland stepped into the room and bowed. "Hello, sir. I have done what you asked of me."

"And the result?" Seto asked him.

"Gozaburo looks to be genuinely non-concerned and seems to have no knowledge of our plan." Roland smiled slyly. "I believe that we are gaining the upper hand, sir."

Seto looked up at Roland who stood with defiance and happiness.

A lot of people were happy once word got around that Seto was taking over KaibaCorp. Gozaburo was cruel to all his employees and staff at the mansion, and nearly everyone was rooting for Seto and hoping for a kinder employer. Sure, Seto was sarcastic and rude, but when it came to rudeness and arrogance, Gozaburo took a big lead.

Seto nodded to Roland who quickly bowed and left the room in silence. The task Seto had got him to do was tell Gozaburo privately that Seto was buying KaibaCorp.

That's it so far.

He couldn't give Roland a much harder task than that right now, because then Gozaburo would know too much. He cannot, by any means, let Gozaburo know his strategy. Then the whole plan would be ruined.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **December 16, 2007**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 12:47**

Seto had gained 23% more, although it had been a slower process than Seto would've liked. Roland kept spouting off info to Gozaburo, who from what Seto has observed and heard was not suspecting anything out of the ordinary. The only thing Gozaburo was thinking right now was that he had the upper hand.

Gozaburo was getting sloppy with his work and screwing up too many times for it to be normal. Seto, The Big Five, and Roland all noticed how cocky Gozbauro was getting and all the while he never suspected a thing. Seto's plan was working to perfection.

Now came the hardest part. Mokuba was needed right now so by the time he gained 49%, Gozaburo would have let his full guard down. He was now going to betray Mokuba's trust towards him, hopefully just enough that it will make the ebony haired boy run to Gozaburo for comfort.

Seto took a deep breath and walked up to Mokuba, who was crouching and innocently humming a tune while sorting through the Duel Monsters cards that were set out to represent pieces of the company that Seto bought out from under Gozaburo's nose.

"How could you betray me?" Seto pushed an unsuspecting Mokuba into the wall.

"Seto?!" Mokuba was horribly terrorized. What? Why was Seto doing this? No matter how much stress or sadness was forcefully pushed on to his brothers shoulders, he always kept a restraint on his emotions, never letting them run wild like this. His brother's face reminded him of the devil himself right at the moment.

"Tell me?! How could you rat me out like that?!" Seto demanded while getting up close to his little brother's face. Mokuba looked desperately at the Big Five who were watching close by, but each one was ethier laughing or glaring at him. Mokuba turned back to Seto, hoping he'd wake up from this nightmare.

"I didn't tell Gozaburo, Seto! I swear!" Mokuba held his hands up and watched in terror as his brother advanced upon him.

"You liar!" Seto spat and pushed him harshly to the ground. "Get out of my sight!"

Mokuba sobbed and ran away stumbling as he went. He retreated to his room and hid himself under the safety and warmth of his bed sheets and comforter. Why... did Seto do that? Mokuba would never tell a single thing to Gozaburo, ever. He hated Gozbauro as much as Seto did.

No... Seto couldn't have meant to do what he did. His brother would never hurt him like that. They were a team, one that worked in perfect harmony. Nothing could separate them, not the orphanage, not Gozaburo, and definitely not this! Mokuba knew there had to be some excuse for Seto's behaviour...

...right?

Mokuba was beyond sad. His mind wasn't functioning properly. Why would Seto do this? He cried even harder while he shook in fear and sadness violently.

Seto hit him, and pushed him, and... Oh god... He couldn't even think about it. Seto... He had to have an reason! He needed to find Seto.

Mokuba quickly ran from his room and down the hallways. He climbed up the stairs to the third floor where Seto's office was, but before he could get there, he ran flat into someone.

Tears bilnded his his eyes and he furiously wiped his eyes to rid himself of the tears and see exactly who he ran into.

"I'm sorry... I didn't see you there..." Mokuba mumbled and sniffed, picking himself off the ground.

"Watch where you're going, Mokuba."

Mokuba heard art an all too familiar voice echo out and he gasped in surprise, his tears vanishing instantly. He looked up and was greeted with the sight of Gozbauro.

"I will... I'm so sorry..." He trembled again and wiped another fresh set of tears out of his violet eyes.

Gozaburo snorted. "Why are you crying?"

Mokuba bit his lip harshly and flung himself into Gozaburo. The older man was desperately trying to get Mokuba off of him, but the boy held on like glue. "SETO HURT ME! SETO! WHY?!" Mokuba yelled and furiously cried into Gozaburo's expensive coat.

Gozbauro at that moment stopped and froze. He led on the conversation, faking concern. "What did he do?"

Mokuba sniffed. "He thought I told you! I wouldn't tell you! Seto doesn't trust me!"

Gozaburo was then hit with a happy realization. Seto thought Mokuba was telling him about his plans?! This was perfect! Seto not only had betrayed Mokuba's trust, but he also had no idea that it was Roland, his most trusted bodyguard who'd been sharing Seto's plans with him. This was great! If Gozaburo could get 49% of KaibaCorp, then the day when Seto approaches him thinking he's won, Gozbauro could use Mokuba to get 2% more that he needed to get 51%!

Gozbauro almost laughed at Seto's stupidity. Maybe Seto wasn't as intelligent as he'd thought when it came to this little plan of his. He led the only thing that could save himself right into Gozaburo's hand.

"Come with me, Mokuba." Gozaburo suggested and Mokuba's eyes widened. "We'll talk over tea."

Mokuba gulped and his eyes showed a little hesitance. Seto had hurt him, and now Gozaburo was being nice? Pigs were truly flying...

Mokuba nodded after a moment of silence. "Why not...?"

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **December 25, 2007**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 13:56**

Seto was horribly saddened. He had hurt Mokuba and the kid didn't even want to see him. Seto hasn't seen his brother since that day, and even though everything was going according to his plan, it hurt so much knowing the only person that cared about you was at the comfort of your worst enemy.

Seto miserably flipped another Duel Monsters card over representing one of the new pieces of the 21% of KaibaCorp he gained. He pushed back the urge to cry and curl up in a corner.

It really wasn't the same without Mokuba being here by his side. Mokuba would usually be beside him right now, counting cards and telling Seto how happy he was and how he wanted to grow up just to be like his older brother...

But Mokuba wasn't here. He was with Gozaburo.

Roland stepped into the room and cleared his throat. "Sir, the last piece of info has been delivered to Gozbauro."

Seto nodded solemnly. "And I trust it was not in the presence of Mokuba?"

"Of course, sir." Roland watched the brunet with sad eyes. "Seto, he won't be mad forever."

Seto straightened up at the mention of Mokuba. He turned around to meet Roland's sympathetic gaze and flinched. "How can you be sure..."

"Because he loves you." Roland smiled and put a comforting hand on the boy's shoulders. "That little boy loves you, he idolizes you. To him, you've become his best friend, his father, his big brother, and nothing can change that. Mokuba's smarter than he looks." Seto smiled at the thought of his baby brother and how much people underestimated him. "He's probably caught on to your plan already. If not, he will easily forgive you."

"How can you be so calm...? I pushed him and hit him. The one person who actually cared about him, physically attaked him." Seto sniffed but kept a strong dam up to keep the tears in. "He'll probably never forgive me."

Roland sighed and pulled the brunet in for an embrace. "Yes, he will. He's your little brother. As I said, he thinks of you like a god. Mokuba will forgive you." Roland pulled back to see the young boy with tear streak on his right cheek. "Besides your plan won't work if he doesn't. And your plan is guarenteed to work, which means he's guarenteed to forgive you."

Seto was confused. "What do you mean?"

Roland grinned and explained further, "Your plan was fool proof from the start. Get me to tell Gozbauro about you and The Big Five's buying out of KaibaCorp's pieces, and place the blame on Mokuba so Gozbauro would think Mokuba would give him the two percent he needs to gain back control. But, Mokuba will stay by your side throughout it, which means he'll have to forgive you before he does so. As I said earlier, your plan is fool proof from the start, which means he'll have to forgive and hopefully forget. "

Seto smiled with a spark of hope filling his beautiful blue eyes. "I guess, when you put it that way..."

Roland patted him on the back. "KaibaCorp will be yours in a few days, with your brother's help."

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **December 30, 2007**

 **KaibaCorp, 20:41**

The day finally came... Seto was taking over KaibaCorp. He had gained 49% and along with The Big Five, he was aproaching Gozbauro with the news of his company, that would soon be Seto's.

"I have something to tell you. The Big Five and I have decided to take control of KaibaCorp!"

Gozaburo gave a thunderous laugh. "Wrong! But nice try!" No, Seto wasn't out of the game yet... "See I knew about your plan all along, your plan to buy out KaibaCorp, but you only bought out 49 percent! And I'm afraid that leaves me with 51 percent!"

Okay, where's Mokuba? He's needed now! Seto was panicking... Maybe he'd been to rough?

"You lose Seto, because this company is still mine!" Gozaburo smirked triumphantly. "And as for you five, as punishment for betraying me you're all fired and I'll make sure you never live in this town again!" Seto heard gasps behind him. "Now pack up your things from your desks and get out of my sight!"

Okay where the hell is Mokuba?!

"And don't think you're off the hook Seto, your headed off to the orphanage where ungrateful brats like you belong!"

A sharp stabbing pain shot through his chest. He... Lost... He wasn't able to obtain 51% of KaibaCorp. He and his brother would be taken back to the orphanage... All the late nights studying, all the rulers and switchblades, the dog collar... It'd been for nothing. Seto felt like crying. Mokuba would be mad at him forever too now...

He screwed up big time.

"Not quite!" Seto heard a shrill voice yell. "He's staying!"

Looking to the side, Seto saw Mokuba walk through the door. "What?! How?!"

"Easy!" Mokuba smiled up at his brother. "Because I'm giving my two percent of KaibaCorp straight to you!"

Gozaburo looked furious. "You're making a mistake, Mokuba! Remember how bad he treated you!"

"Seto and I are a team!" Mokuba proclaimed glaring at Gozaburo. "I'd never turn my back on him!"

"You fool!" Gozaburo spat venomously at Mokuba.

"I have made up my mind!"

"You heard my brother! Now I'm the new president of KaibaCorp!"

Seto took pleasure in hearing Gozaburo's cry of defeat.

"NO!"

And he did something Seto never thought he'd see in his entire life.

Screams echoed off the wall and a horrifying crash was heard.

He ran up to the shattered window and looked down. It was mangled, like a marionette doll, and red seeped out of the lifeless body below him...

Gozaburo Kaiba's body...

Someone muttered behind him, "Time of death, 8:51pm..."

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **December 31, 2007**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 23:55**

It was finally here.

Seto Kaiba was now the proud owner of KaibaCorp. Everything he worked so hard to obtain was finally his.

Gozaburo's suicide had been the sweep in the nation. Everyone who was anyone knew about the CEO's suicide, and Seto was still trying to get the memories out of his head.

It felt odd. Being out of Gozaburo's shadow... Everything was his, and Gozaburo wasn't here to ruin it. Everything he planned out, way back from the orphanage, had worked to his advantage. He won the games fate threw at him and gained every prize. Every single day, the nights, the early mornings while he was studying, paid off. The abuse paid off. Gozaburo's teaching even paid off in the end.

Seto was soon going to convert the company to a gaming company, once everybody was over the fact the the previous CEO was dead. Yes, games were pure... War was not...

Maybe that's why he liked games so much. He wasn't as pure and whole as games. No, half his mind was taken over by Gozaburo from his forced studying and abuse...

Along with the games he would definitely find the Blue Eyes-White Dragon cards. He made a promise so long ago, it was hard to remember, but still a whisper in his head every now and then reminded him of it. He also remembered what Mokuba said a long time ago. About how he wished that he and Seto would ride on a Blue Eyes and go as far away from the mansion and Gozaburo as they could.

Maybe they didn't have to do that anymore. Gozaburo was gone, for good. Seto finally knocked him down on the podium and he raised to the gold.

He heard a tap on his bedroom door, and a little head peeked in. "Seto?" Mokuba asked coming into the slightly cold room. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing.. Just some paperwork..." He continued with some hesitance, "You realize that I'll be at the office a lot more now that I'm the CEO, right?"

Mokuba nodded sadly, "Yeah, but it's not much of a change from when you were studying. Besides, you'll probably enroll me into school."

"Damn right I will! You will be educated and you will have friends!" Seto joked.

Mokuba looked at the balcony wistfully, then back to his brother. "Seto, it's New Year's Eve. Why don't we go outside and enjoy the fireworks from a distance?"

Seto considered this. The last time he's spent more than five minutes with his brother was when he betrayed Mokuba's trust... Which had not been fun by any means. "All right, get some blankets and pillows."

Mokuba squealed in excitement and ran to a closet in the corner. He grabbed blankets as quick as lightning and grabbed fluffy white pillows from Seto's bed. Seto opened the balcony door so that Mokuba could get through to the balcony part. Once outside, Mokuba set the blankets and pillows down and both of them sat on them.

"Happy New Years, Mokuba." Seto said to his brother after a while of silence.

Mokuba looked up innocently, with a smile adorning his childish face. "Happy New Years to you too, Seto!"

Seto sighed and looked down towards his brother. "Mokuba... I'm so sorry for what I did. You realize know why I did it right...?"

Mokuba knew exactly what he was referring to. "Seto... That was honestly the worst day of my entire life... But because of you and your smart planning, my future life won't be as bad. You have KaibaCorp now, Gozaburo's gone and you're free to do whatever you want. I forgive you Seto, I'll always forgive you."

Seto embraced his little brother and took in the sight of twinkling stars, the bright moon, and the fireworks from a distance. New Years world be better, for the both of them...

10...

9...

8...

Seto could think for the first time in a long time...

7...

6...

5...

Maybe, he could finally leave his parents, his childhood, the orphanage, Gozaburo, his studies... he could finally leave them in the past.

4...

3...

And look towards a better future, for him, and for Mokuba.

2...

1...

Instead of New Years starting in silence like almost every year was, it was filled with Mokuba's happy cheers, the sound of fireworks in the distance... and Seto seeing this couldn't help but stretch his mouth into an unfamiliar position; one he hadn't done in a long time.

Seto smiled.

* * *

 _"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men."_

 _-Frederick Douglass_


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: There is two OC's in this chapter, and again like last time, I've tried to make them as non-Mary-Suey as possible. Like last time, they will only be in this chapter and have no relationships with any of the original characters.

Also: I wrote multiple duels in this chapter, and wanted to point out some facts. Holograms were not yet in use until Seto makes his contract with Pegasus, so all the duels will be played on mats. Some cards in Seto's deck have not been used in the show, but I put them in his deck because I have to assume he has at least one copy. These cards are ones such as Red Eyes-Black Dragon, Dark Magician, Dark magician Girl, Gaia the Feirce Knight, and others not just from the show but rare and easier to find than something like BEWD or The Egyptian God Cards. Also, the rules in this chapter are the ones set before the Battle City Rules. These rules are ones such as you can Summon level 4 or higher monsters to the field without any sacrifices, Xyz summons have not yet been introduced, nor have Synchro or Tribute summons.

The Duel Pegasus has with Seto in this chapter is not his usual strategized use of Toon Monsters, but in Duelist Kingdom, Seto is genuinely shocked at Pegasus's strategies, so I'm using my own. (I actually collect duel monsters card and have a deck.) Same situation with the OC's, just everyone's clear on that.

Time zones are different as well in this, but that will be explained in the chapter.

Sorry for the long information. Enjoy!

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **Chapter 11: Seven Cents**

 **o-O-o**

 **February 4, 2008**

 **Kaiba Jet, 12:54**

At last...

KaibaCorp was now a gaming company, and belonged only to Seto.

Since Gozaburo's death, KaibaCorp has been more successful than ever before. KaibaLand is a work in progress, and designs have been completed for the theme park. Other Dueling technology was being created, but not yet built.

One thing Seto was extremely proud of was the destruction of Alcatraz. Alcatraz had been Gozbauro's main military base and where most of the war machinery was stored. Seto had blown up everything, and literally rebuilt it into a dueling tower. He had spent endless hours on that island with Mokuba as his only companion, and together the duo designed and built a triumphant tower from the rubble of the military base. It was the symbol of new over old, gaming over military... Seto over Gozaburo...

Seto had one thing on his mind right now though. He needed the three Blue Eyes-White Dragon, and if possible the fourth. His only clue right now is to go Pegasus's castle and find out where the cards are.

He was on his private jet headed to find Pegasus and perhaps duel him for the Blue Eyes-White Dragon. He was close to landing, and saw the island in sight.

Seto looked down at his deck, hoping that he'd have enough power to take down Pegasus. His deck was lacking the obvious three monsters that he needed to make it complete, but so far, his deck wasn't entirely trash. He had a few handy traps like Crush Card Virus and Kunai with Chains, and with other cards such as Monster Reborn, Saggi the Dark Clown, Hitotsou mi Giant, and Enemy Controller, his deck wasn't completely useless. His deck was all about strategy and power, and that's how he'd win.

The jet landed just outside of a forest, but from where he landed he could clearly see a huge castle. He quickly hopped out of it and made sure it was locked so that no one could get in. He scowled at the beating hot sun and started his journey towards Pegasus's castle.

Thankfully, the journey there was not long. By the time he arrived though, the only thing holding him back from taking his black trench coat off was the fact he'd be meeting with the creator of Duel Monsters. The stairs to get to the castle were long, narrow, and there were at least a hundred individual steps, if not more.

When he arrived at the front door, (which realistically looked more like a door you'd see used to enter a torture chamber) the doors magically swung open and a bright hallway greeted him from the inside. Seto knew there and then that Pegasus must have had cameras hidden.

Seto took hesitant steps forward, not having the slightest clue where he was going but he wasn't going to make a fool of himself, not with Pegasus watching. He was grateful when he came to large set of door which he opened, not bothering to knock, and the sight that greeted him was great.

Pegasus was looking directly at him with a slightly evil grin, and a glass of champagne in his left hand. The other hand contained a Duel Monsters card and other ones were spread out on the much-too-large table Pegasus was seated at.

"Ahh, young Seto Kaiba! How nice it is for you to join me!" Pegasus said with sincere enthusiasm. "Come, sit! I have grape juice and cheese! Ooh, and Duel Monsters cards!"

Seto scowled. Grape juice? Seriously? "I'm not here to chat, Pegasus."

"Using last names is so formal." Pegasus said stubbornly and crossed his arms. "Why not my first name? Maximillion?"

Seto snorted. "As if. Like I said before, I'm not here to chat." Seto got straight to the point after that and started to explain. "You are the creator of Duel Monsters, and I know you would have to have at least one copy of the most powerful card in your Deck."

Pegasus turned his head away with pursed lips. "Why do you say that, Kaiba boy?"

"Because you're not just the creator of Duel Monsters you're also a business man. If you're as smart as I hope you are, then you'd be a fool not to keep at least one Blue Eyes-White Dragon in your deck for future use, and to make sure that if someone were to challenge you, you'd have a least one to fight with." Seto said while crossing his arms. It made perfect sense. Why wouldn't the creator keep at least one?

Pegasus shrugged nonchalantly and picked a card off the table. "Alright, you got me. You can have the card." Seto's eyes widened while Pegasus's eyes narrowed. "On one condition, Seto Kaiba. I'm guessing you know what that is?"

Seto nodded and pulled his own deck from his coat pocket and said, "Let's Duel."

Pegasus grabbed his own deck and yelled, "Croquet?!"

A butler scampered in clumsily and was immediately at his master's side. "Yes, master Pegasus?"

"Go fetch two dueling mats for us. Now."

Croquet bowed and left quickly, returning fast with two mats. "Anything else, master Pegasus?"

Pegasus shook his head. "No, you buffoon. Leave."

Croquet bowed once again and left quicker than the first time while Pegasus fumbled with the mats. Pegasus then scooted his chair over to the right seat beside the head of table, while Seto was on the left so that they wouldn't be playing at an odd angle.

"Ready, Kaiba boy?" Pegasus asked while handing Seto his deck. Seto handed his deck over to Pegasus and then they both shuffled the cards. "Of course."

Once they each had their decks back and on their side of the mat, they drew five cards.

Pegasus smiled a bit creepily and said, "Seto Kaiba, you should go first, my treat to you."

Seto rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks." He looked at his cards and inspected what his first strategy would be. He had in his hand Hitotsou mi Giant, Kaiser Glider, Monster Reborn, Red Eyes-Black Dragon, and Flute of Summoning Dragon. "For my first move, I'll put my Kaiser Glider on the field in attack mode."

Pegasus clapped, mildly sarcastic but more enthusiastic. "Very good move Kaiba boy. Although it's not as exciting as the holograms you've produced, hmm?"

Seto nodded, a bit sourly. Pegasus was the only one aware of the holograms he's diligently worked on for a while now, and he'd like to keep it that way. He planned to surprise the public about his company's doings.

"Duel Monsters is exciting either way. I've just found a way to make it better for beating and overwhelming your opponents." The brunet responded, clearly impatient.

"Alright Kaiba boy, my turn." Pegasus drew a card from his deck and examined the six cards in his hand thoroughly. I think I'll play a spell, Card Trader. This allows me to shuffle one card from my hand into my deck, then draw a card! And as an extra bonus, it stays on my side of the field for the entire duel!" Pegasus did exactly that and looked happily at the new card he recieved. "Get ready, Kaiba boy! For now I play Metaphys Armed Dragon! You lose 300 Life Points Kaiba! That means you're down-"

Kaiba sneered while removing his card from play and to the graveyard. "I know how to do math, Pegasus. I'm down to 1700 Life Points. Get to dueling and less wasting of my time!"

Pegasus looked at him with mock-hurt. "So rude Kaiba boy! Fine, to end my turn I'll set one card face down."

"Finally," Seto scowled while drawing a card. His new card was the trap card Miniaturize, and he now had one of the many strategies he planned in his head. "I play Red Eyes-Black Dragon in attack mode." After he finished his Main Phase 1, he set a card face down and said, "To end my turn I'll set this card face down. Your move, Pegasus."

Pegasus eyed him for a moment. Pegasus was actually kind of creepy in Seto's opinion. There was something unsettling with the way half of Pegasus's hair covered his left eye, and how dramatic he was. That hair certainly wasn't normal either. It was a light lavender color, but when it caught the light at a certain angle, it looked silvery like a spider's web.

"Pegasus, make your move. You're the creator, you should know how to play your own game." Seto growled getting more impatient by the second.

Pegasus set his cards down and smiled eerily. The business tycoon then rested his palm flat against his stack of cards that wasn't even a quarter of the way gone. Seto gaped at him.

"You're... surrendering?!" Seto yelled slamming his palms down flat on the table while standing up to look threatening. How could he do this to him?! He came here to win the Blue Eyes-White Dragon, but if he never finished the duel, and won, then he'd never get that chance!

"That's right Kaiba boy." Pegasus said while taking all his cards off the mat and pocketing his now full deck. Except for two cards... "Seto Kaiba, I don't have to duel you."

"And just why the heck not?!" Seto demanded, beyond furious. Did this man think he was too good for the Seto Kaiba?!

"Because, I can tell you're a worthy duelist." Pegasus threw two cards at him and he caught them with ease, noticing they were face down. "Take them."

Seto turned it over hesitantly and the sight that greeted him was most pleasant. One Blue Eyes rested in his hand, as well as a Fusion Card called Blue Eyes-Ultimate Dragon. "You're just handing over one of the four most rare Duel Monsters cards in the entire world to me, not to mention a Fusion Monster that had never been publicly advertised or sold?" Seto said not believing his luck; no matter how happy he was at this moment, something wasn't settling right.

"That's correct Kaiba boy." Pegasus confirmed while writing something down on a slip of paper he had fished out of his pocket. "Here's the locations of the next two and the people you have to find. Although, if you want them from these two it's going to be much more complicated then this little chat had been."

Seto growled while cleaning his cards off the necessarily large table. "Pegasus of all the things I've heard people call you, stupid hasn't been one." Seto looked up from doing his task facing Pegasus with a studying look. "Why are you just handing them over like they're a common card?"

Pegasus smiled and waved his hand as if to say 'Eh, it's just a card' and Seto almost smashed his face on the table by his lack of interest. "You see Kaiba boy, I'm not giving you these cards for free. I have no doubt, Seto Kaiba, that we will meet in the near future and then I will reclaim what's mine."

Seto could've swore he saw a glint of gold beneath the layers of silvery hair.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **Febuary 3, 2007**

 **London, England, 14:33**

Seto sighed as he entered the luxury hotel room. Sadly, the next location of the Blue Eyes-White Dragon was all the way in London, England and while he really didn't want to travel halfway across the world for a card, he had to keep a promise he made. Better to get it done fast instead of dragging the process out longer. Besides, as much as he didn't want to, he was going to attend school soon so this task and many others would have to be completed by then.

The the time difference between London, England and Domino, Japan was eight hours, so while it was 11 o'clock in the night in Japan, (Mokuba better be in bed...) it was barely going on to dinner in London, England. He was lucky he had his own private jet though, because the ten hour flight here could've been 16 hours on a plane. Another thing that confused him was the fact that places like Canada, America and London, England were almost always a day earlier than Japan was, depending on what time you arrived because of the time difference.

Travelling wasn't that big a deal to Seto anymore though. When he was really little, his mom and dad used to tell him he went to Australia but he was too young to remember. With Gozbauro he'd been to a few places like America, Germany, and Ireland when he was forced to tag along to learn from the experience. He also had plans to make a point to travel with Mokuba for a pleasant vacation sometime, instead of dreary business meetings. There was one thing seto absolutely loathed while travelling: converting currency.

Seto had been lucky enough to get a hotel room fairly fast and it wasn't bad either. The room had a four star rating, and although he'd prefer a five star rating, it wasn't terrible. There was a large bed in the centre of the room, a desk with a bright lamp, a large TV, a mini fridge that included a freezer, and a spacious, clean bathroom. Free breakfast was served here as well as lunch and dinner, but he didn't plan on staying that long.

There was a tournament tonight at 5 o'clock and the next person who had the next Blue Eyes was a Duel Monsters nerd called Noel Raimens. It's been told she has over one thousand cards, and that she's beaten Pegasus herself. She was currently the World Champion and has attended the world championships every year as well as attending small tournaments around her home town in Canada. She sounded like a grade A sleazeball from what Seto had heard. She told many people to bug off when they approach her and has verbally abused many duelists because they were beneath her in status, money, and a title.

Luckily, because she was so well known that meant her deck was well known. Everybody who knew about her knew about her famous deck which revolved around the one powerful dragon that hid in her deck. Such an easy opponent in Kaiba's opinion.

The world championship was tonight at five, and it ran for three days. Seto felt he didn't need to wait that long to crush her winning steak. Then, unfortunately he'd have to take another flight to Bucharest, Romania, where he'd meet Aurel Vladimirescu one of the holders of the four Blue Eyes-White Dragon. This guy was said to be an excellent duelist and also a great chef. He wasn't entirely sure how this guy came to have the card when he was passion was cooking, but eh... It would be his soon enough anyways.

Seto forced himself not to fall asleep on the incredibly comfortable bed and stood up stretching his aching muscles. This is what he gets for sitting in a jet for 9 hours... While he was used to Japan's time zone and wanted nothing more than to fall asleep, he was going by London's time and it wasn't even 3 o'clock...

He had to go and eat something before he met up with this champion. He knew somewhere he could eat out, and thank the gods it was not a McDonald's or something. Seto was all about fancy foods, stereotypes be damned. He wanted to go to a place he read about called Chené, literally translating from French to English, OakWood. He had heard it was a great for sitting down and eating a proper meal. It was a bit farther than he might've liked but it was still about two hours before he had to compete with the supposedly snotty girl.

He grabbed his long trench coat from the hanger it was dangling from, made sure to lock the hotel room door, and left to wipe the floor with little miss snotty.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **Febuary 3, 2007**

 **London England, 17:38**

Dinner had been uneventful, but the food had been good. The CEO had ordered truffle parmesan fries, with a seasoned chicken breast and a small side of sautéed broccoli. Not wanting to waste his food he ate it all, but from a nasty habit of not eating so much, he felt ready to burst. Needless to say, although tempting, he skipped dessert.

He was at the place the tournament was being held and he spotted Noel easily. There was a crowd of fan boys and girls surrounding her as she beat another chump who dared to challenge her.

"Noel Raimens?"

This girl, Noel, had light brown shoulder length wavy hair with her bangs cut side swept. Her eyes were a peculiar cat green and her skin a rosy peach. She was wearing a black sleeveless turtleneck shirt with black shorts. She had on black combat boots, wore a gray studded belt and gray fingerless gloves that reached her elbows.

"Who are you, chump?" She asked with a slight English accent.

"Seto Kaiba," Seto gave a vicious glare back, and continued on. "And I challenge you to a duel!"

She raised an eyebrow and laughed. "You think you can challenge me? To Duel Monsters?" She stopped chuckling in amusement and faced him down with an icy stare. "You're wasting my time. Get out of my sight."

Seto had a very déjà-vu moment with the words he said next. "You're afraid to take on the challenge of a duelist who hasn't entered any tournaments at all? Oh, won't the press have a great time hearing about this."

Noel sneered. "You wouldn't, brat!"

Seto glared back at her. "Want to test me?"

She growled and stepped threateningly in front of him. Seto then only noticed that she was a few inches past his head while she glared down at him with ice cold eyes. "Fine, punk. You think you can beat the champion? I'll give you a shot." Noel snapped her fingers impatiently at a nearby fan waiting for her autograph. "You, set up a table. This'll be quick."

Seto followed the girl to a table with two Duel Monsters mats set up on either side. Noel sat on one side and Seto on the other, each staring at each other with hate.

"Let's make this more interesting." Seto declared while shuffling his opponents deck.

"How so?" Noel asked mildly curious.

"I have no need or desire to challenge you for your title of world champion, but rather for a card you possess." Noel looked mildy angered but more apparent on her face was surprise. She must be keeping the fact that she has the Blue Eyes-White Dragon on the down low. "You and I both possess a Blue Eyes-White Dragon so let's make it that the loser had to give up their Blue Eyes-White Dragon. That way, whoever wins takes all. There's nothing to lose, but everything to gain.

"So, you have a Blue Eyes, eh? Well, I'll let you know, there's a reason I'm the World Champion. No ones ever beat me, especially at Duel Monsters." She gave him a determined stare while handing his deck back to him and Seto did the same. "I fight my Duels with honour, and my opponents better respect me and that fact."

"Well, Raimens, I'll let you in on a secret too." Seto said smirking and she growled. "What is it?!"

He drew five cards. "I've never lost to anyone either."

She scowled and drew five cards. "Your turn first, Seto Kaiba."

He smirked studying his cards. "My pleasure."

Seto had in his hand La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp, Peten the Dark Clown, Monster Reborn, Rude Kaiser and Aqua Madoor. He set down his Mystical Genie down on the field and ended his turn. "Sadly the rules make it so that I can not attack on the first turn, so it's now your turn."

"Don't tell me how to duel, loser." She drew a card and examined her hand before playing her first card. "For my first turn I'll play the magic card One for One. This card allows me to discard one level card from my Hand to the Graveyard, then I can special summon one Level 1 monster from my hand or deck. I choose The White Stone of Legend." She did exactly that and then placed a card face down. "To end my turn, I'll lay a card face down. Your move, chump."

"Hn..." Seto drew a card, it was his Crush Card Virus... He couldn't use that now... "I play Rude Kaiser in attack mode," Seto put a trap face down. "then I'll set this card face down to end my turn."

Noel chuckled with no humour. "Aww, he's afraid to attack. Playing it safe, coward?" Noel sneered while drawing her next card. She studied the field set up and her hand, then decided to set a monster in attack mode. "I'll play Shining Angel in attack mode, then I'll end my turn."

Seto snorted while drawing his card. "Yeah, and I'm apparently the coward..." He looked at the new card in his hand; Enemy Controller... So he had in his hand, Peten the Dark Clown, Monster Reborn, Aqua Madoor, and Enemy Controller... Hmmm, this could work out well. "I play Aqua Madoor in attack mode and set one card face down."

Noel now looked confused, but nevertheless continued her next turn. "Fine... I'll play the magic card, Card Trader. This allows me to shuffle one card from my hand into my deck, then draw a card." The snobby girl did as she said she would then took the bait Seto was hoping for. "Now, I'll attack your Aqua Madoor with my Shining Angel!"

"Not so fast."

Noel gasped. "A trap card?!"

Seto smirked and flipped up his enemy controller. "That's right, World Champion." He spat out her title in a mocking way and she growled ferociously. "This can allow me to tribute one of my monsters to take control one of yours until the End Phase! So, I'll sacrifice my Aqua Madoor, and I'll take control of The White Stone of Legend!" Seto smiled wickedly as her eyes widened in shock and frustration. "So your attack just got directed towards your White Stone... And you know its effect, correct?"

"Add 1 Blue Eyes-White Dragon from your deck to your hand..." She spat out between gritted teeth. "You realize you're down to 900 Life Points now though, right?"

Seto shrugged nonchalantly. "It was worth it."

The champion switched her Shining Angel to defence mode. "That ends my turn."

Seto drew his next card. He gained Kaiser Glider. "You're right, this was a quick duel..." Seto said not sadly at all. She narrowed her eyes in confusion and anger. "I play Peten the Dark Clown!" He slapped the card down triumphantly.

She stared...

He stared back at her...

Then Noel started to laugh... She laughed for a good minute... Seto just raised a brow.

"You must be dumber than I thought you were." Noel chuckled while drawing her card. "That was a stupid move, Seto Kaiba!" She eyed her new card and smirked victoriously. "I summon Rabid Dragon in attack mode!" She sneered with an evil grin. "This is it, Seto Kaiba! It was a mistake to challenge me! I'll attack your Dark Clown with my Dragon."

Seto just smiled and echoed her previous words, "You must be dumber than I thought you were." She stopped what she was doing and glanced at him with wide eyes. "That's twice you've not noticed my trap cards." He flipped it over and her eyebrows shot up beneath her bangs with surprise. "I activate Crush Card Virus. This trap card infects your hand and your deck, and any monster with 1500 or more Attack Points is sent directly to the Graveyard..." Noel gulped and bit her lip harshly. "Of course, that would mean you have no monsters left over. Because you made your deck so public, thinking no one could beat you, you've allowed the world to see each and every card you have in your deck, and you never change it up. It's always the same strategy, one that had only power and no combinations with weak monsters." Seto sneered as she recoiled. "How you became World Champion with a deck like that, I'll never know... A mutt could beat you at this."

Whispers from the onlooking crowd of fans and press were flooding Noel's ears as she grasped the ugly truth. "I lost... To a second rate duelist..."

Seto rolled his eyes with no sympathy at all. "Yes, you did... Now kindly keep your promise and give me your Blue Eyes."

Noel gasped as she remembered the consequences of losing the match. She gritted her teeth in shame and stood up, handing her opponent the card, looking longingly at it. "Seto Kaiba, I will keep my promise... As I said I am a honourable duelist..." He stood up after clearing his side of the field and gently took the second Blue Eyes-White Dragon out of her hand. "But, please, promise me you'll take of it... It's precious..."

Seto noticed the card had a sleeve on it... This girl must truly love the card... "I will treasure this card... Thank you.."

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **February 4, 2007**

 **Bucharest, Romania, 14:03**

Seto arrived in Bucharest in his jet late last night. He didn't leave London until 8 o'clock yesterday evening, and the flight had been nearly 4 hours. While it was February 5th in Japan, and 10 hours behind of the time zone here, he felt well rested and happy enough to start his search for the third Blue Eyes.

Noel Raimens had been a snotty girl, but she was highly fond of her Blue Eyes, as Seto was as well. It really wasn't for his sake though. He made a promise to Mokuba so long ago, that he'd find all four Blue Eyes-White Dragons and show everybody that no one on earth is superior to him. He needed to keep at least one promise he made to Mokuba and he would accomplish his goal no matter what.

So here he was, standing outside the front door at at the apparent address of Aurel Vladimirescu that Pegasus had given him, ready to ring the doorbell. Seto sucked in a breath and pressed his finger to the doorbell. A few seconds later, a man showed up at the now opened door.

The man spoke first. "Salut. Cum va numiti?"

Seto replied back just as fluent. "Numele meu e Seto Kaiba."

The man's eyes widened with realization and spoke in English with a heavy accent. "Da... Pegasus the creator of Duel Monsters has already called and told me that you were coming to see me... You have arrived faster than I expected."

"Îmi pare rau." Seto bowed slightly in an apologetic way. "Am I intruding on anything?"

The man stepped away from the front of the door and shook his head. "Nu, I am just apologetic for not being able to give a proper welcome... Nothing has been set up, but you are welcome in. I must warn you, my kids were playing earlier in the living room so it is somewhat messy. They are absent now though and have left with my wife so we are alone."

"Multumesc." Seto stepped through the doorway and let the man lead him to what he assumed was the living room.

"Sit down, va rog." The man offered and Seto took a seat on the dark brown couch. The room had a TV in it, two couches and a coffee table. A computer desk sat against the left wall and a computer sat on top. A few loose papers were also set out along with some pencils and erasers.

Aurel sat across from him and began their conversation. "Not to seem so forward or disrespecting, but may I inquire your reasons for traveling so far to meet here?"

Seto smiled. "Well it honestly is a long story, and I would like you to not take this into offence."

Aurel shook his head, looking mildly interested. "Nu, I'm all ears."

"Multumesc. As you are a chef, you are a player of Duel Monsters, correct?"

"Da."

"From what Pegasus has told me, he has said you are one of the holders of the rare card."

Aurel smiled looking towards the computer desk. "You must mean the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Yes, that was so long ago I had first recieved the card." He looked at Seto with a grin. "That card... Did you know I found it in a common booster pack?"

Seto's eyes widened. "Nu. I am surprised someone would treat it with a lack of care that great."

Aurel nodded. "I was surprised as well. Duel Monsters was and still is just a hobby for me. Something I do when I'm bored. I keep the card a secret from people outside this house... I like to keep my focus for the future on cooking."

Seto smiled encouragingly. "A good career to keep focusing on. From what I hear you're quite the cook."

Aurel flushed somewhat from the attention. "Well, that's other's opinion..."

Seto smiled at the man's words. "No need to be modest. If you're good at something, announce it to the world."

The chef then realized something important. "Would you like some tocanā de iepure?" He asked the CEO who was staring at him oddly.

"Tonacā de iepure? Rabbit stew?" Seto shook his head. "No, sir... Rabbit is such an expensive delicacy nowadays. You should share it with your family once they get back."

Aurel shook his head. "Actually, rabbit is quite common among us here... I forget that you're more accumulated to your Japanese customs. I apologize... I will not push you to eat it, but please feel free to ask."

Seto pursed his lips before politely saying, "Alright, if you don't mind."

Aurel smiled, and got up off the couch leaving him to his thoughts. The chef soon returned with a white bowl, and a spoon dipped into a fresh looking bowl of rabbit stew. Seto made sure to sit up straight and lean over the coffee table so that if anything spilled it wouldn't be on the couch.

"I hope it is to your liking." Aurel sat back in his original spot as Seto tried the stew. It was not bad at all... Of course he wasn't used to some of the unique flavours such as the currant jelly or the black peppercorns, and the rabbit was cooked perfectly but had a different flavour than meats such as chicken or any other common meat. Of course Seto had tried rabbit before, but this chef was obviously well practiced when it came to traditional dishes.

"Multumesc. It is very delightful." Seto bowed his head before returning to his stew.

"Now," Aurel started up the next conversation. "I think you came here for a reason other than chatting about the card, right? "

Seto nodded. "That would be correct. I am sorry if that sounds rude."

"No offence taken my friend." Aurel stood up once again, walked over to the computer desk and took a single card of the top of the pile of papers. "I do not ask for anything in return for it. It is more useful with someone such as the new world champion."

Seto couldn't believe his ears... This generous man was just handing over the card like that. The brunet set his now half empty bowl of stew and set it down carfully on the table, then took the card. "Mr. Vladimirescu. You can't just hand it over to me..."

Aurel smiled gently and shook his head. "Why shouldn't I? I don't have any use for it and I'll be much happier knowing its being used helpfully instead of rotting away in this house somewhere..."

"Multumesc..." Seto didn't know what to say. This guy didn't even want anything for it...

Seto stood up and bowed politely. "Îmi pare reu, but I have to get back as soon as I can to Japan. I have a little brother that needs my attention."

Aurel nodded in an understanding way and led Seto to the front door again and opening it for him. "Of course... My family will be home soon as well. Încântat."

"Încântat. La revedere."

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 2007**

 **Febuary 4, 22:08**

Seto was ambushed by his little brother when he got back and couldn't be happier. The flight from Bucharest to Domino was 14 hours and Seto seriously needed sleep. The traveling within days was not something he was hoping to do again. It was bad enough to be away from his brother, and the travelling got his sleep schedule screwed up (not that it hadn't been before hand).

"Seto you're back! It was soooo boring without you here. Roland played video games with me and he gave me candy and he let me stay up and he took me to the park, but it wasn't with you so it wasn't the same and-"

"Mokuba, quiet down." Seto pulled his brother closer to him in his arms and teased him, "You'll wake up all of Domino City with your voice."

Mokuba smiled up at him. "Sorry, I'm just so excited your back!"

Seto pulled something out of his coat pocket and held them out to Mokuba. "Look what I got."

Mokuba took them with a raised interest and gasped at the cards in his hands. "Wha..? How? Why? Wha...?"

Seto smiled gently. "Remember when I made promise a long time ago... About getting the 4 Blue Eyes in my deck... I also remember your dream of someday riding on one, and flying away on one, and getting as far way from Gozbauro as we could..."

Mokuba blushed when he remembered making such a childish dream. "Seto, that was a long time ago... It was a silly dream."

Seto shook his head. "I don't think so... But I went and got these cards for your behalf. I figured that out of all the broken promises I've made to you, at least one could be kept. I promised I would get all 4... I have three and the last one will be mine."

Mokuba grinned from ear-to-ear and kept into his brothers arms. "Thank you so much, Seto! Thank you..."

Although Seto didn't voice it, he silently said, 'You're welcome, Mokuba...'. Seto had made so many promises when he was younger to the most important person in the world, his brother... and hadn't kept any... He also made promises to his late parents, who still watched over them... Getting the Blue-Eyes White Dragon hadn't been a favour on his part, but Mokuba's.

Out of all the burdens and unkept promises he carried around on his shoulders, the heaviest lifted off him and he relaxed a bit, knowing he just gained a small, shattered peice of his childhood back.

* * *

 _"Within the core of each of us is the child we once were. This child constitutes the foundation of what we have become, who we are, and what we will be."_

 _-Rhawn Joesph_


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: I just wanted to state that updates will be longer now. From this point forward, every chapter will basically be right from the show, so that means I'll have to be watching a lot of Yu-Gi-Oh! over and over again to try and fit the scene for each chapter. Also, adding my own thoughts to the story will prove a difficult task as well, although I will try to update as soon as possible

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **March 2,** **2008**

 **Domino High School, 12:43**

School... If there was one thing Seto hated it was school. He ran a company, and has made technology that should be beyond what this generation is supposed to comprehend, yet here he was. In grade 11, 16 years of age, and surrounded by imbeciles that should be back in kindergarten.

Everyone in the classroom sat in clumps of students, gossiping or planning a sleepover for the weekend that was fast approaching. A rather large crowd had gathered around a desk though, and Seto realized with a tremendous annoyance, that they were the loudest group in the room as well. Seto sat alone, reading a novel, though finding it a difficult task with the nerd herd within metres of where he was.

"Joey?! Earth to Joey! Hey are you in there?! It's your turn!" Yugi yelled to Joey who was right in front of him. Seto couldn't help but scowl in annoyance. Could he possibly reach an octave higher?!

"Aww isn't he cute when he's thinking?" Seto saw Tristan out of the corner of his eye wrap his left arm around Joey in a wrestling way, equally as loud as the tri-coloured teen.

"Hey Tristan, Yugi here's teaching me how to play Duelin' Monsters!"

Seto groaned internally. There's the mutt with his loud voice and vexing accent. Grrr, it makes Seto want to punch him right in the face.

"Drooling monsters?" Tristan asked. Seto snorted quietly from where he sat alone. What a stupid comment, honestly.

"Duelin' Monsters ya nimrod!" Joey pushed the boy away and everybody except for the CEO laughed like the immature brats they were. Seto seethed quietly. Yeah, like Joey had pronounced it any better than Tristan.

"Sheesh!" Tristan yelped almost running into Téa.

"They've been at it for hours," Seto wanted to bang his head against the desk. NOOOO, no one had noticed. God, did Téa think she was some kind of Sherlock or something? "and Joey's starting to get the hang of it, but Yugi's like an expert!"

"Okay Yugi, it's time to duel!" Joey slapped down a Duel Monsters card harshly on to the playing mat. He had played a weak monster, Seto was almost sure, even if he couldn't see from where he sat.

"See, each card has an attack number and a defence number. The first person to eliminate their opponents Life Points wins the duel!" Tèa explained.

"Pretty good move, eh Yugi!" Joey boasted.

"Yep!" Yugi nodded his head once, drawing his card. "Pretty good move! But not good enough!"

Seto stared as Yugi set a powerful card down, and also relished Joey's completely lost expression.

"What? Thanks a lot! A card that powerful totally wipes me out!" He whined.

"Woah, you stink at this game Joey!" Tristan laughed at his friend's misfortune.

Seto actually raised his head at this and looked over at the group instead of looking at the corners of his vision.

Yugi cheered up his friend while wearing a sheepish expression. "Nah, you did fine Joey! I just have better cards! See my grandpa owns a game shop and I get all my best cards from him!"

Joey slammed his palms down on the table, apparently taking appeal to the idea of a game shop. "Your own game shop? What are we waiting for, let's go!"

Yugi laughed at his friend's enthusiasm. "Okay, maybe I could even get my grandpa to show us this super rare card he's got!"

The geek squad left after they packed up their materials and Seto was left to think to himself. _Rare card? Could they have the card I've been searching for?_

It was worth a look...

Kaiba exited the school building and called his driver to come get him, relieved that something was saving him from staying in the hellhole called school. Once the driver arrived, he eagerly climbed into the back of his car and told his driver to go to the Kame Game Shop.

He passed many buildings and took a notice to his building, towering over the smaller ones in the far distance. Everytime he stared at it, it was a sight that made him feel achieved and proud, and honestly, he didn't think that feeling would ever go away.

When they arrived at the Kame Game Shop, Seto took a notice about how weird this place looked. Compared to the other buildings around it, the Kame game shop was small. The shop itself was multi-coloured with blues, yellows, greens and even a bit of red at the side... It also wasn't right beside another building; it was oddly placed in the middle of a huge patch of land, and to get to nearest building would probably take a few minutes.

With a scowl he dramatically opened the front door to the shop, head held high and briefcase in hand. He met the eyes of the nerd herd... Ughh, now he has to deal with them too.

"Hello, can I help you?" Yugi's grandpa smiled kindly at him, and Seto might've smiled back if it wasn't for the fact the others were in the room.

"If you can't, it certainly wouldn't surprise me." He answered with full honesty. This place hardly had enough room to walk in, nevermind having one of the rarest cards in the world.

"Seto Kaiba?!" Yugi recognized him instantly.

Joey grumbled, "Kaiba..."

"Doesn't he have a big fancy company to run? What's he doing down here?" Tristan threw in his two cents and Seto wanted to slap him for such a stupid question.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I came to see the card." Kaiba looked anywhere but their eyes, trying to find any sign of a Blue Eyes in here.

"Hey are you into Duel Monsters too?!" Joey grinned stupidly and stepped forward as if to shake Kaiba's hand or something. "This is perfect, maybe we could all duel together sometime?"

"Me? Duel you?" Seto couldn't help but snort at that. "Please, I'd have more of a challenge playing solitaire."

"What?" The mutt scratched his head in confusion.

What a dumb dog...

"I am the number one ranked duelist in the country and the favourite to win the Duel Monsters championship." Kaiba raised his head high, though turned away from the friendship patrol. "Heh, you wouldn't last two minutes in a duel against me!"

"Ooh, I'm shaking!" Joey raised a trembling fist glaring up at the brunet. "Maybe you'd like to settle this with fists instead of cards?!"

Before he could answer, Yugi butted in with his own advice. "Woah, take it easy Joey!"

"But Yugi, Kaiba's asking for it!" The dog tried to sound threatening, and again Seto snorted with thick sarcasm. God, did this guy think he was a sumo wrestler or something?

Kaiba ignored Joey completely. "Now, does this shop have any worthwhile cards or not?"

Then, his calculating, cold, azure eyes caught a sight that was fantastic. 3000 ATK, 2500 DEF, Light, level 8! Yes, it wasn't fake! The words came tumbling out of his mouth, his words voicing his thoughts precisely. "Can it be?! The Blue-Eyes White Dragon?! In a dump like this?!"

He ignored the looks he got from the gang for pushing his way in front, and the two looks from Yugi and Solomon for calling this place a dump.

 _It is! The card I've been searching for!_

"Well, enough window shopping. Is there anything else I can help you with?" Solomon asked closing the Blue-Eyes White Dragon away in its case.

Window. Shopping... What. The. HELL? Why in the friggin universe, would THEE SETO KAIBA come into this place, look at a Duel Monsters card with interest, outright saying that he's been looking for this card, and the old fool thinks he's god damned _window shopping_?

He growled and slammed his breifcase on to the counter, making Solomon jump back in fear. He unlocked it and turned it around, showing only Solomon the contents of the inside. "Listen to me, old man. Give me your Blue-Eyes White Dragon card, and I'll trade you all of these."

Of course, the nerd herd got curious and peered over to find his breifcase full of the most powerful cards in all of Duel Monsters. "Woah...!" They all murmured in awe.

"Ahh, nice." Yes! Seto was excited beyond belief. This man was taking his offer and- "But no thanks."

WHAT. THE. HELL?

"WHAA?!" Everyone yelled in sync with each other, while looking totally shocked.

Seto growled, fed up with this man. "Fine, if you won't trade, maybe you'll sell it. Name your price, I can pay anything you ask."

"I'm sure you could, but this card is worth more to me than you could ever offer. Not because of its power, or because it's so rare, but because of what it means to me. This card was given to me by a dear friend, so I treasure this card as I do that friend. So parting with it is completely out of the question!"

"No!" Seto could feel all his hard work and determination flying out the window. Why isn't the old man giving him the card?!

"You'd feel the same even if it was a common card, right grandpa?" Yugi asked happily while Seto's whole body shook with contained rage.

Solomon nodded in agreement. "Yes, exactly. You see, this card has bonded with my heart."

Seto's lips curled into a vicious snarl and he violently closed the breifcase. "I've heard enough of your nonsense." He turned from everyone in the room and slammed the door behind him as he left. "Senile old fool!"

Seto got into the backseat of his limo and glared at nothing in particular. _"Heart of the cards! That's ridiculous! These cards are all about power, and one way or another, his_ _Blue-Eyes White Dragon_ _will be mine!"_

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **March 3, 2007**

 **Kaiba Mansion, 11:04**

A struggling Solomon Motou was brought into him the next day. He found it rather humourous seeing as the same man was teaching him wisdom about the 'heart of the cards'. The thought made him roll his eyes.

"Let me go!" Solomon struggled against the bodyguards, but was proven useless by a unfair disadvantage of being so small and weak. Still, Seto admitted to himself, the old man put up a good fight. Once Solomon spotted Kaiba, he growled.

"Young man, what do you think you're doing?!" Solomon demanded, and the bodyguards finally let go of him, but immediately went to the door to block anyone who wanted to get in, or out.

"Hello, old man." Seto smiled wickedly. "I hope you've brought your deck with you."

Solomon slowly and hesitantly reached into his front pocket and pulled his Duel Monsters deck out.

"Good," Seto smirked while taking his own deck out. "I want to duel you."

Solomon raised an eyebrow. "You kidnapped me to duel?"

Seto rolled his eyes. "First off, it was your choice to come here. I did not kidnap you." He replied in a sarcastic bitter tone. "Next, when we duel, we will put up our most rare card as the prize. The winner will get that card."

Solomon's eyes narrowed and considered this for a really long moment. Just as Kaiba was about to snap at him, the old man nodded. "Alright, Kaiba. I'll duel you."

"You don't really have a choice in the matter. Follow me."

He led the old man to his dueling stadium. Kaiba was thankful that the senile old fool wouldn't have any idea that he'd be using holograms during this game.

Kaiba went to one side of the stadium and was lifted on the dueling platform, and thankfully, the man was wise enough to follow exactly what he did. His opponent got his deck ready and so did Kaiba. "Alright old man, if you play Duel Monsters so passionately as you say, then I guess you know the rules," Kaiba said expectedly.

Solomon nodded and said confidently, "Of course."

Seto brought his game face on. "Then let's Duel!" He nodded towards Solomon after he had five cards in his hand. "You first, old man."

Solomon growled and drew a card. Kaiba waited a moment before Solomon set his first card. "I summon Winged Dragon Guardian of the Fortress!"

Sparkling lights fluttered around on the large centre of field in between the two, before a ginormous hologram of the Winged Dragon appeared.

Solomon stepped back in fear. "Real monsters?l"

Kaiba just laughed and drew a card. In his hand he had Saggi the Dark Clown, Hitotsou Mi Giant, Crush Card Virus, Negative Energy Generator, Battle Ox, and Blue Eyes-White Dragon.

Seto decided that he'd go easy on the man. For now at least. "For my turn, I play Battle Ox in attack mode!" He paused as the hologram came to life. "Battle Ox, wipe out his Winged Dragon!"

The beast charged and swung his axe through the other monster. The holographic projection of the Winged Dragon dissolved into little fairy lights while Battle Ox stayed on the field.

The old man was shaking in fear while Kaiba indulged in the sight. "What's wrong, old fool? Is the said 'heart of the cards' failing you?'"

Solomon growled and drew a card from his deck with the only energy he had. "The heart of the cards never fails me, and once I teach you Kaiba, it won't fail you either." Kaiba's opponent glanced at his cards and set one down. "I summon Curse of Dragon in attack mode! Curse of Dragon attack Kaiba's Battle Ox!"

The dragon closed in on Kaiba's holographic image and slashed it apart. Kaiba lost 200 LP.

Solomon set another card. "And I'll set this card face down, for later."

Kaiba decided enough was enough. He drew one card and... Perfect. "Alright, here comes your demise!" Kaiba set down two cards and two miraculous dragons appeared on his side of the field.

Solomon's eyes turned into pin points at the sight and he trembled with a newfound fear. "Two Blue Eyes?!"

Kaiba smiled wickedly. "Oh, yes!"

Solomon shook his head. "Stop, I quit the d-duel!"

What a pathetic man... Kaiba shrugged. "I'll attack anyways. Blue Eyes! White lightning attack!"

The first Blue Eyes-White Dragon attacked Curse of Dragon leaving Solomon on the ground in shock and exhaustion, not even able to call the obvious trap card he'd placed moments ago. Kaiba continued his attack. "Blue-Eyes! Attack him directly!"

The dragon did as he was commanded. Solomon was shaking with fear and shock by the end of the attack while the familiar shrill tapping sound of LP going down rang in Kaiba's ears.

"Heart of the cards," Kaiba sneered while hopping gracefully down from the dueling platform. "Never heard something more ridiculous. Roland," Seto pointed at Solomon while his faithful bodyguard stood off to the side. "Please dump him outside"

Roland nodded and bowed respectfully. "Yes, sir!"

Kaiba checked his watch. Perfect timing, just as he'd planned. Seto pulled out his cell phone and called the Kame Game Shop. Yugi was sure to be on lunch break now, which meant the runt and his geeks would venture to the dump known as a game shop. It had rung for a minute before someone picked up.

"Hello, Kame Game Shop!"

Kaiba almost barfed at the overly sweet voice on the other end of the phone. "Ahh Yugi! Perfect!"

"Kaiba?"

"Your grandfather's here visiting, but he's not feeling too well. Why don't you come by my office and pick him up?"

"Kaiba? What have you done Kaiba?!"

Seto ended the phone call there. He was sick of Yugi's voice. He put his cellphone back into his pocket and leaned on the wall, closing his eyes. Why was he doing this? He could just steal the card... But he felt like something bad would happen... After a long ten minutes of waiting he heard faint voices, all worrying and frantic. He used this time to make a entrance.

"How's the old man feeling?" Seto asked from the doorway. It looked like everybody had shown up.

"Kaiba, you sleaze, what have you done with him?" Joey growled while shaking his fist threateningly.

"We had a duel, that's all, with each of us putting up our most valuable card as the prize. But I guess playing against a champion like myself was too much stimulation for the fool." At the end he laughed at his own joke. Stimulation, haha.

"Kaiba! You should be ashamed for yourself!" Tèa pointed at him with a bony finger, thinking she was authoritive. Is she stupid? They just had duel! Nothing at all to be ashamed about.

"It was fair. And look at the sweet prize I won." Kaiba held up the Blue Eyes-White Dragon, and saw multiple pairs of eyes widen in happiness at the card.

Then he tore it in two.

It made a horrible ripping sound that echoed off the silent shock that had enveloped the room, in a sick, suffocating grasp, until Yugi broke the silence in a horrified whisper. "Grandpa's most treasured card! Why Kaiba?! Why did you rip my grandfather's Blue-Eyes White Dragon card?"

"Never leave any obstacle standing," Seto muttered loud enough for only himself to hear.

"Huh?" Yugi asked confused.

"Yes, the Blue Eyes is a rare and powerful card, and this one will never be used against me." It was common knowledge that you can only have three repeats in a Duel Monsters deck, so someone could use it against him in the near future. It made more sense to rip it instead of keep it, because then it could be stolen and used against him.

"My Blue-Eyes White Dragon! My treasure!" Solomon reached his hand out in pain and despair, as if he could grasp the remains and put them back together.

Yugi looked at his grandfather with genuine concern. "Grandpa, hold on!" He then turned to Kaiba, and lost all concern on his childish face, replaced with pure, raw rage and hatred. "How could you do such a thing?!"

"Yugi, here, take this!" Solomon held his deck out weakly to Yugi.

"Huh, grandpa?" Yugi asked sadly.

"I've put my heart in this deck, I've put my soul in these cards, and I've taught you everything I know, Yugi. Take them, take these cards and teach him respect, teach Kaiba respect from the heart of the cards, Yugi." Solomon nodded at Yugi through the pain.

Yugi ignored everything his grandfather said. "But grandpa, you need help! I've got to get you to a doctor!"

"Sounds like an excuse. Your friends can take care of your grandfather, while me and you duel." Kaiba paused, smirked, then taunted him, "Unless you're afraid?'

"Take 'im Yugi!"

Arghh, that friggin accent! Seto wanted to punch out that blond's teeth...

"Huh?" Yugi asked Joey, blinking in confusion.

"We'll take care of your grandpa, while you take care of creepy Kaiba!" Creepy Kaiba? Seto knew he was scary, but creepy, where did that come from? "Teach that rich spoiled brat what a real duel's all about!" Joey finished while glaring

Yeah, because that worked SO well with the last duel.

"For your grandpa, Yugi!" Tèa added her thoughts in and Kaiba was slowly losing patience.

The geek squad chatted for a minute or two, before Yugi followed Kaiba into the dueling area.

"I designed this virtual stadium myself. Impressive, hmm? I think you'll agree, it adds a bit more life to the game. We each begin with 2000 life points, first player to hit zero loses! Are you ready to play, runt?" Kaiba smirked with pride while his tri-coloured opponent growled.

"Play time is over Kaiba!"

Seto saw a flicker of light before... What the hell? Something was tripping here...

The brunet voiced his thoughts perfectly. "Uhhh, what the...?"

Yugi, was now taller. It was hard to notice because he hadn't grown much, but it was definitely not a feature from before. He had gained some muscle and posture in a second and his eyes were suddenly narrowed dangerously. His eyes were a deep pool of fiery crimson that would pull you in if you weren't careful

"Now, Kaiba, prepare yourself because it's time to duel!" The new Yugi asked him tauntingly.

Heck, this Yugi even has a deeper voice.

"Virtual systems ready, so let's begin. I attack with the mighty Hitotsou mi Giant. Brace yourself, Yugi. You've never dueled like this before."

The hologram of the Hitotsou mi Giant appeared as if it were real and mighty scary. Yugi recoiled and shook his head as if he wasn't seeing correctly. "Huh, he's brought the monster on the card to life?!" Yugi exclaimed, mostly to himself.

"It's my virtual simulator. It creates life-like holograms of every duel monster." Kaiba said, extremely proud of himself.

"So this is how you beat my grandfather. Well now it's my turn! I call on the Winged Dragon Guardian of the Fortress!"

"Monsters?! Real monsters?" Seto was vaguely aware of the mutt's voice chiming in his two cents, but was more focused on the Duel.

Yugi commanded his dragon, "Fireball attack!"

Seto put his arm up to block the white light and gritted his teeth when he felt the attack was over.

"Big brother?! Are you alright?!"

Seto to turned his head and gave Mokuba a quick smile as if to say he's okay. Mokuba nodded in return and shifted his gaze back to the duel arena.

"Alright! Go Yugi!" Joey pumped a fist in the air while cheering his friend on enthusiastically.

Seto drew a card from his deck. "Huh, well played Yugi. For a beginner." Seto set a card down on the field. "But how will you deal with this!"

Yugi blinked when he saw a familiar clown materilaize on the field with a cackling laugh. "Saggi the Dark Clown?! But that card has hardly any attack strength!"

"True, your dragon's attack is 1400, while my Dark Clown's is only 600, but if I combine it with this card..." Seto trailed off and set a magic card down.

"A magic card?!" Yugi asked.

"Exactly, the negative energy generator. It multiplies my monster's attack by three. Dark Clown attack with dark light!"

The clown put its hands together and laughed insanely. It shot out a dark light and Yugi's monster vaporized.

Seto smirked in triumph. "As you can see, combining cards can be very effective."

Yugi kept bringing new monsters to field, and each one was demolished by Seto's Dark Clown. Yugi looked desperate, while Joey kept yelling encouraging words like, "Hang in there, Yugi!"

"You're not faring any better than the old man did, Yugi. Your deck is just as weak and feeble as your grandfather."

"My grandpa is a great man and a better duelist than you'll ever be. He entrusted me with his cards and I feel his heart in this deck. I doubt that you have that kind of faith in your cards, Kaiba."

"Wha?" Seto said intelligently and he imagined he made a perfect WTF face.

"I believe in my grandpa's deck." Yugi drew another card and smiled at his winnings. "And my faith rewards me with Gaia the Fierce Knight! With a destructive power of 2300!"

The Knight galloped across the field to Kaiba's monster and cut the cackling clown in half.

"Way to go Yugi!" Joey cheered while doing a little victory dance.

"Alright Kaiba, your move."

"This'll be over sooner than you think." Seto drew his next card and his face turned sinister. "I call on the Blue Eyes-White Dragon!"

The holographic image was scary enough, and it worked well enough on Solomon. So, Seto thought that there could be a slight possibility that he could win using the same tactics. If not, he win using his strategy and power.

"No way!" Yugi shook his head and stepped back.

"Impossibel! Kaiba tore that card in half." Joey exclaimed from the sidelines.

"Surprised? Did you really think your grandfather's the only one who possessed a Blue-Eyes White Dragon?" The powerful dragon destroyed the holographic image of the Fierce Knight, and Kaiba smiled victoriously. "Your Fierce Knight is destroyed."

"Faith or no faith, you will fall below my power. This game is all about power, faith is for fools like your pathetic grandfather. In your entire deck there's not a monster that can stand up against a Blue Eyes-White Dragon, so what hope do you have against two?" Seto set down his second Blue Eyes and Yugi's eyes widened in disbelief. "Why don't you just admit defeat, Yugi?"

"Swords of Revealing Light! This stops all monsters on the field from attacking for three turns!" Yugi sounded desperate while he said that.

"What possible good will a three turn delay do you?" Kaiba taunted and Yugi fell silent.

Yugi didn't say another word for another minute, and Kaiba knew he was going to win the duel. Yugi was just stretching out his survival time until Seto's victory. After another five minutes though, Seto just got annoyed at the runt.

"Quit your stalking Yugi or you will forfeit the match."

"I never forfeit Kaiba." Yugi proclaimed and drew a card.

"Draw what you'd like, it won't change a thing. My dragons might be frozen for another two turns, but my new monster is under no such spell. The Judgeman with an attack power of 2200!" Seto said proudly.

"Dark magician, attack, your Judgeman falls." Yugi said after the attack was finished.

"A sacrifice that doesn't even faze me. And though my two Blue Eyes are still frozen for another two turns, my next card is... the third Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Now my dragon, attack!" Seto commanded and the beast heeded his commands.

"So so tell me, Yugi. How's your faith now? On my next turn all my Blue Eyes can attack. Nothing can save you now, no matter what card you draw!"

"Don't listen Yugi!" Joey scowled at the CEO.

"Draw your last pathetic card Yugi so I can end this!" Kaiba taunted, egearly waiting his victory.

"My grandpa's deck has no pathetic cards, Kaiba." Yugi drew his card and looked at it, then smirked. "But it does contain the unstoppable Exodia!"

"Huh?! Impossible!" Kaiba wasn't hearing this, right?

"I've assembled all five cards, all five special peices of Exodia!" Yugi exclaimed with a newfound energy.

"Exodia?!" Seto recoiled in fear and shock. "It's not possible! No ones ever been able to call him!" He even would've laughed if this situation wasn't downright horrifying. All you're really doing is getting five cards and using polymerization... So why hasn't anybody been able to call on Exodia before?

Seto heard the terrible words that sounded from Yugi's mouth. "Exodia, obliterate!"

"Ahhhh!" Seto yelled as Exodia's attack came firsthand, right to his three Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"You did it Yugi! You won!" Joey cheered happily from the sidelines.

"This can't be! My brother never loses." Mokuba shouted, clearly in denial and close to sobbing.

"You play only for power, Kaiba, and that's why you lost. But if you put your heart in the game, there is nothing you can't do."

Mokuba wanted to cry. Seto did put his heart into this game! Seto had one thing as leverage during his studies while they were still with Gozaburo. Duel Monsters. Everytime Seto played, he put his heart into it, the child in him came to life.

Yugi just ruined that.

He couldn't even guess how Seto must be feeling right now. Gozaburo taught Seto a long time ago. To lose...

Is to die...

"But how," Seto shook his head in disbelief... He lost to a tri-coloured haired runt, no taller than 4 feet, that hadn't once participated in a duel tournament. "How could I have lost to HIM?"

"Kaiba, if you truly want to know, open your mind!" Yugi stretched his hand to Kaiba, and Seto felt his mind _shatter._

Within the depths of his mind Seto felt tearing and movement. He felt his memories being rearranged, thoughts being lost, ideas placed differently, imagination ripped apart then put back together. There was also a large amount of pain that Seto felt, filling his head leaving no place untouched.

All in all, not a great experience.

The CEO fell to his knees as the two platforms got lowered on either side. Yugi left without another word with Joey. Mokuba ran to his brother in concern, and Roland stood awkwardly off to the side, watching the scene with sad eyes.

"Seto..." Mokuba rubbed his brother's back awkwardly, trying to be comforting. "It's okay big brother... You're still the best duelist I know. No one will ever take your place!"

But Yugi did...

Seto lost.

Yugi won.

Seto Kaiba lost.

Seto stood up and walked out of the dueling area, not saying a word.

He lost... But...

Seto would win.

* * *

 _"From the deepest desires often come the deadliest of hate."_

 _-Socrates_


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Just letting people know, before next chapter, I'll be changing the summary for this fanfic. I feel like it could've been written better, so yeah. Just letting everyone know. Also, sorry about the long wait. There really isn't any excuse for me not updating, so hope you enjoy this chapter and I'll try harder to update faster.

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **Chapter 13: Zero Cents**

 **o-O-o**

 **March 25, 2007**

 **Duelist Kingdom,** **12:06**

Mokuba was mad... Mad at the world, mad at the Big Five, mad at himself, mad at Pegasus, mad at Yugi... And surprisingly mad at Seto...

Seto was more or less the reason he was here in the first place. Seto, not long after his defeat by Yugi Motou left Kaiba Mansion, and escaped to their vacation house... He said a few words to him, and Mokuba remembered them word for word.

 _"Seto, you got to leave now if you wanna make the boat for the big tournament at Duelist Kingdom!" Mokuba called through the door of Seto's office door. After getting no response, he tried again, "Seto!" He knocked on the door. "Open the door."_

 _Mokuba got fed up and opened the door, surprised at what he saw. "Huh, Seto?"_

 _"I'm not going Mokuba..." Seto said a bit sadly, gritting his teeth while shuffling through some Duel Monsters cards._

 _Mokuba was shocked at this news. "Not going?! Why not?"_

 _The elder Kaiba threw the cards down he was shuffling. "There's no point..."_

 _"What do you mean there's no point?" Mokuba persisted._

 _"Kid, I'm in no condition to duel anyone." Seto replied bitterly._

 _"What are you talking about? You always say cards are power and you've got all the strongest cards!" Mokuba said trying to counter his own words against him._

 _"Since I've lost my duel with Yugi I just don't know what I think anymore. Everything's different; it feels as if I lost a huge part of myself that day."_

 _Mokuba's eyes narrowed a bit when hearing Yugi's name. "But Seto, you're the best. You're the champ!"_

 _"Not since the day I was defeated by Yugi. Here, Mokuba." Seto stood up and threw a card at his little brother, who, with great reflex skills, caught it without looking down. "I'm going away for a while, I don't know how long I'll be gone. Keep this, it was always your favourite."_

 _Mokuba glanced at the card. "But, why? Why are you leaving?"_

" _Because I don't know who I am anymore. Take care kid." And with that, Seto walked out closing the door behind him._

 _Mokuba reached out desperately. "D-don't go!"_

After Seto left the Big Five took advantage of his absence. They made a deal with Pegasus to take over KaibaCorp. However, Mokuba ruined that plan by being the next one to inherit the company, so in order to get Mokuba out of the way they kidnapped him and sent him away to Pegasus's castle.

As he sat imprisoned in Pegasus's dismal castle, he was worried sick because he knew Seto was being hunted like an animal. He had a plan to try to escape. He stole some of the bedsheets and tied them in a rope, secured it to the bed frame, went to the window, took a deep breath, and started rappelling down the side of the castle. When he reached the end, he realized he was a bit high up for his liking, but he couldn't turn back now. He racked his brain trying to calculate his options on getting down. His plan was made for him when one of the sheets snapped and ripped. His violet eyes widened and he fell to the ground with a medium-hard impact. Thankfully, he fell into some leaves and the impact wasn't hard enough to cause him any major pain. Rubbing his now aching back, he set off on his mission.

He just needed to find a duelist with star chips, then he'd snatch the star chips as well as the persons deck. Since he already knew the rules of duel monsters, he could then confront Yugi and take every last star chips the duelist had so he'd be disqualified. Yugi had to pay for what he did to Seto and Mokuba would do anything to make his brother come back.

The raven haired boy walked for a little bit taking in the scenery. He was in the meadow, in which the trees and grass were lush and green.

When the tournament was first introduced to the public he read the rules and knew what each field was. Of course, the rest of the public didn't know that, but since KaibaCorp was producing Duelist Kingdom's technology Seto and Mokuba had both learned things about this tournament that no one else knew.

As Mokuba walked a bit further, his feet were starting to throb from both the distance walked and his worn-out sneakers. Then he spotted a patsy he could steal some stars from. The kid only had five star chips, which meant in the last 12 hours he hadn't dueled anyone. Mokuba had hoped for a less pathetic person to take some star chips from, but this would do.

"Hey! You!" Mokuba shouted to the boy. The kid turned and faced Mokuba with confusion.

"Who? Me?" The guy asked looking around to see if anyone else was there.

Mokuba rolled his eyes. ' _No, I want the tree's attention.'_ "Yes, you! I challenge you to a duel!"

The boys eyes widened. Apparently forgetting and not noticing that Mokuba didn't even have a glove or any star chips, the boy nodded. "Alright then!"

A dueling platform came up from the ground, while Mokuba and the duelist climbed up on their respective sides to duel. "I'll wager two star chips!" Mokuba's opponent said. The kid put down his deck and went to remove his star chips from thier resting place. Mokuba took that chance to slip away from the platform and quickly sprinted to the other side. Climbing up, he grabbed the deck of cards and the five star chips.

"W-wait!" The kid yelled in shock. Mokuba sprinted over to the bushes from which he emerged from earlier and tricked the boy into thinking he was still running, but instead he was hiding. He watched from his hiding place as the kid yelled for him to come back and that he didn't even get to duel him.

Mokuba's heart jumped out of his chest when he heard one of Pegasus's bodyguards. Peeking through the bushes he saw... was that Kemo?! Kemo used to be one of Gozaburo's bodyguards, but Seto fired him of course... Mokuba doesn't blame Seto for firing him though. Out of all the staff at the Kaiba mansion few stayed after Gozaburo's death, one of the few included Roland.

Mokuba had to watch out for Kemo for two reasons: 1) he had a grudge particularly against Seto since the day they were adopted from the orphanage 2) if he was caught, he would certainly be returned to the mansion,min a rough manner.

As Kemo laughed and grabbed the duelist from the ground, the kid yelled out in desperation. "Help me! Somebody help me please!"

Finally, Mokuba heard the voices that he'd been wanting to hear since the mission was laid out. "Hold on kid, we're coming!"

Their footsteps thundered against the ground as they approached. The bodyguard let go of the kid and got into a fighting stance. The brunet with the pointy pampadour charged Kemo while Yugi, Joey and the other brunette girl stood back and watched. They definetely had foolish courage.

The friend of Yugi's with the pointy pompadour then picked Kemo off the ground and flipped him over his shoulder while stupidly yelling "Let that kid go!", which didn't make any sense because the kid had already been released.

Yugi's friend swaggered as proud as a peacock after "saving" the kid. "Not too shabby!" he gloated.

Instead of hitting the ground painfully like the defence skill was supposed to happen, Kemo used his left foot to spring off the ground and cushion his fall, then came towards his opponent, effectively kicking him in the back.

The teen muttered while laying on the ground in agony, "I'm off the big guy."

Mokuba watched from his hiding place how the rest of the scene played out.

Then the duelist he stole the star chips from was lifted off the ground.

"Hey! Put me down!" the kid demanded as he tried to kick furiously at Kemo's legs, in vain, for Kemo was more amused than anything.

"Quit squirming, you little brat!" Kemo ordered while tightening his grip around the boy.

"You heard 'im needle head!" Joey said referring to the hair on the bodyguard. "Put de kid down!"

Yugi stepped forward raising a fist, but looked no more threatening than a cat. "What do you think your doin'?"

"This is none of your business. This duelist lost his star chips, and the rules say he's to be kicked off the island!" Kemo reminded them. They all looked at the kid for a better explanation.

"But I didn't lose my chips in a duel they were stolen from me! They and my my cards were stolen from me!" the kid stuttered in protest as he struggled against the bodyguard's strength.

"I don't care what lame excuse you've got kid, but the rules from Pegasus himself say you need star chips to duel, and since you don't have any, you're* shipping out of here!" Kemo snarled in an annoyed tone and started walking away from the four friends.

The teen boy with the pointy pompadour who got pummelled by Kemo, sat up holding his head groaning in pain and glaring at the retreating Kemo. "That big creep! I say we follow him!" he suggested angrily. The four friends then not-so-secretly followed behind Kemo, while Mokuba was left to wait for them to return. He was chomping at the bit to duel Yugi and avenge Seto.

Yugi, Joey and the other agreed and the three of them set out, following not-so-secretly behind the bodyguard, while Mokuba was left to wait. Hopefully, Yugi would come back and duel him.

"So what's you ber-illiant mind telling you now, Sherlock?" Mokuba heard the pointy haired brunet ask to Joey.

Joey massaged his head and replied with, "I don't know right now. All my brilliant mind is doin' right now is givin' me a brilliant headache!"

Yugi perked up when an apparently good idea came to his mind. "Well, maybe we should stake out the scene of the crime. It's over there!" Yugi ran with a with an awkward stance and plopped himself down on the ground. The rest of the group came beside him, but chose to stand up

"Think the thief might come back?" Joey asked the spiky haired boy.

Yugi grinned and nodded his head. "He just might. And we can put our heads together and plan in the mean time."

The one who got pumped earlier laughed. "Yeah, but don't forget one of those heads is Joey's. That's sort of like subtracting one brain!"

Mokuba saw Joey roll his eyes and let out a sarcastic, "haha."

The raven haired boy couldn't take another minute of listening to mindless banter, so he emerged from the bushes, surprising the group and yelled triumphantly, "I've found you at last, Yugi!"

They all stood up and Joey made a stupid remark. "That must be the kid we were lookin' for!"

Mokuba scowled when the next two comments were placed. The pointy haired brunet yelled out, "I can handle him!"

The one girl in the group turned to him with serious eyes. "I'd hope so! You're twice his size!"

Mokuba's eyes twitched. Seto taught him self defence shortly after Gozaburo died, so handling this teen wouldn't be the most difficult person he's ever faced. "Try me, you big dork!"

The one who got pummelled earlier guffawed. "Back off kid!"

Joey raised a fist looking ready to punch him. "Yeah, and hand ova the star chips ya swiped from dat otha' duelist!"

Yugi turned to his friend calmly. "Hold on, I think I know what this kid's after; wants to duel."

The angry teens looked at Yugi in shock and mild confusion while Mokuba suppressed a groan. ' _No, I was going to invite you to a tea party and to dress up dolls.'_

"That is what you want, right? You want to duel me?" Yugi confirmed, looking suspiciously at the unindentified kid.

Mokuba nodded. "Oh you better believe it."

Yugi nodded and climbed to one of the platforms. Mokuba smirked and went to the other side.

Mokuba heard the three others in the friendship squad talking down below, but he was more interested in Yugi. The King of Games was looking into space, and suddenly he just changed right before Mokuba's eyes. Mokuba's eyebrows furrowed, as he was seriously confused. Yugi just got taller, and his eyes changed shape and color, all in the span of a second. Mokuba just ignored it and concluded that he was seeing things.

Yugi smiled at him, seemingly calm and even... understanding? "Now, how many star chips will you wager?"

"To wipe you out, five!" Mokuba exclaimed as he thrust out his hand with all five fingers spread out to emphasize his point.

"Then five it is. But only because I think I know why you're doing this," Yugi agreed setting down his chips.

"I don't care what you think Yugi," Mokuba snarled, fishing the chips out of his pocket and threw them against the playing field. "Because I think your gonna lose."

"Duel!" They both shouted drawing five cards.

 _This is it Yugi! Now you're going to pay for what you did to my big brother! You broke my family, and now, I'm gonna break you!_

"My first card, is the Man-Eating Plant!" Mokuba set the card down and almost instantly the hologram version popped up on the large field.

"Now on its my turn!" Yugi drew a card and set it down. "I counter your attack with The Winged Dragon Guardian of The Fortress!" Yugi set the card down in attack mode.

"Heh, bad choice Yugi. My man eating plant will eat your dragon alive. So now you're finally gonna pay for what you did to me, Yugi, and your stupid dragon is going to be plant food! Man-Eating Plant, attack!" Mokuba commanded and the hologram followed that order.

Yugi however countered the attack. "Fireball attack!"

A large ball of light lit up when the 'fire' from the dragon's mouth came in contact with the Man-Eating Plant. Mokuba covered his eyes and once the attack was over he looked at the field to examine his work.

"Huh, my plant is destroyed?!" Mokuba exclaimed in shock after realizing his side of the field has no defenders.

"You cannot win a duel with cards that do not rightfully belong to you. How could your heart ever live in cards that belong to someone else?"

The ebony-haired child growled and clenched his fists. "Be quiet! I don't believe in that 'heart of the card' stuff you keep preaching about! Cards have nothing to do with heart, it's all about power!"

"Yes, i can see it now... I sensed a connection to Kaiba." Mokuba's opponent studied him for a moment before exclaiming, "You're his brother! You're Mokuba!"

"How did you know?!" The child slipped his bandana down from around his face. "Well it doesn't matter."

"Look!" Joey pointed at him from the sidelines

Tèa gasped. "It _is_ Kaiba's little brother!"

 _No, he's Dora_. Seriously, how stupid were these people? "That's right Seto Kaiba is my brother and he's the best duelist that there ever was." Mokuba said proudly. He missed his brother so much. "Now thanks to Yugi he's gone! And Pegasus is trying to take over KaibaCorp."

"Pegasus wants KaibaCorp?!" Yugi asked seriously.

"I don't know what you did to my big brother when you dueled, Yugi. But ever since that defeat, he hasn't been the same. He ran away because of you, and because he's gone, Pegasus moved right in. Some KaibaCorp executives invited him to some kind of secret board meeting." Mokuba shuddered at the memory.

" _Now gentlemen, let's see if I understand this proposition. Kaiba has adandoned his corporate station and now you five wish to seize control of KaibaCorp, then you want to merge with my company, and you'd like me to handle any messy details?" Pegasus asked, comfirming the plan laid before him._

 _"Precisely Mr. Pegasus. With our money and your leadership we will easily take control of KaibaCorp." Johnson answered._

 _"Do tell." Pegasus said, sounding very interested._

 _Gansley stepped in happily. "For this plan to succeed, Kaiba must be taken out of the picture. Permanently."_

 _"However, there is one catch... As for corporate bylaws, only a Kaiba family member can legally control KaibaCorp." Leichter said thinking about the younger Kaiba._

 _"To that end, Pegasus we recommend kidnapping Kaiba's little brother Mokuba. In name he will control KaibaCorp, but we will control him," Nezbitt said, hoping Pegasus would agree._

 _Crump then jumped into the conversation. "Do this for us and we will lay all of KaibaCorp's technology at you feet."_

 _Pegasus nodded his head while folding his hands in his lap. "Agreed the elder Kaiba shall meet with a little accident and the younger Kaiba will be captured."_

 _"But we have one final condition. The brat who beat Kaiba tarnished KaibaCorp's good name, and we must insist that you restore it."_

 _"Well, how fortuitous." Pegasus laughed, clearly amused with his choice of words. "Making plans for me to duel Yugi are already underway. Now to show that I really am the man for the job, Kemo, bring me young Kaiba would you?"_

 _Mokuba, who'd been in the hallway listening didn't even have time to turn around before he felt strong arms wrap around his midsection and his right arm being forced into a forceful grip._

 _"Let me go you creeps! I know everything, and when I tell my big brother, you're going to be in so much trouble!" Mokuba shouted quickly and furiously, while kicking against his offender's arms and legs."_

 _His shouting was drowned into a background noise when Pegasus continued the conversation. "See gentlemen, this is how efficiently you can expect me to do this job. The young Kaiba is captured, Yugi will be defeated, and Seto Kaiba will bother us no more!"_

The younger Kaiba shook himself out of the memories. "It's all your fault! Seto deserted me becuase of you!"

Yugi tried desperately to make Mokuba understand the situation in terms he could understand. "You don't understand Mokuba, your brother hasn't deserted you. He's searching for himself."

"Liar!" The ebony-haired boy growled while drawing a new card. How dare Yugi stand there and say that to his face? "Tell it to my monster! Go Crocadilis."

"Battling me won't bring your brother back! And we want to stop Pegasus as much as you do. He's taken my grandfather prisoner." Yugi tried to reason with Mokuba, in vain.

"That's right! Pegasus is de bad guy here can't you see that you crazy little kid?" Joey yelled at Mokuba who shook his head in clear denial.

"You're wrong! I have to protect my brother's company and Yugi's the one Pegasus has to beat in order to take it over."

Mokuba noticed that Yugi and his loser cheerleaders were distracted, so he siezed the chance to sneak off his platform, ran to Yugi's platform, and climbed up, sneaking behind him. He snatched the star chips, not caring or noticing how many he had.

"If I can't beat you, I'll have you disqualified!" Mokuba shouted running as fast as he could hearing echoing footsteps not trailing too far behind.

"Hey, my star chips!" Yugi exclaimed, while the thief ran away.

"Hold up you little punk!" Tristan and the others went after him while Yugi just tried to explain the problem to him.

"Mokuba listen to me!" Yugi called over to him. Mokuba paused, looking back at him. "You'll never save KaibaCorporation like this! Your big brother is just confused. After I defeated Kaiba in our duel I opened his mind. I removed from him all the dark influences that clouded his thoughts and actions, free of that evil essence. Kaiba is struggling."

Hearing that his brother was struggling was no more appealing than the fact Pegasus was after KaibaCorp, but he kept listening. "Now your brother realizes his way wasn't the right way, and he's searching his heart for answers. And you know in your heart what you're doing isn't the right way either!" Yugi finished explaining and waited for Mokuba's response.

"But then... what can I do?"

"You can start by trusting me." Yugi smiled encouragingly at him and Mokuba nodded, indicating that he was listening. "Together we will defeat Pegasus. I promise you, we can only bring Pegasus down if we stick together. We'll help you protect your brother, Mokuba but you've got to help us, okay." The King of Games consoled the younger Kaiba. "You've got to go back and return those cards and star chips to the kid you stole them from."

"You're right Yugi!" The young boy smiled in an apologetic way up at Yugi, and continued. "Then we'll take on Pegasus together!"

"We've only got three minutes left until the boat leaves!" The girl of the group exclaimed hurriedly.

"Lets get going Mokuba!" Yugi ran down from the platform and the five of them ran off towards the water.

"Let's do it!"

All five pairs of footsteps slapped harshly against the ground as they came closer to their destination. With three minutes to get there, and so much, and so much ground to cover through a forest of trees, they had to star in their lungs until they got there.

"Hurry! We're almost there!" Mokuba yelled to the teens who were trailing slightly behind him.

"We're gonna just make it!" Yugi said happily, although painfully out of breath.

They all hurried themselves over to the dock, where the boat was waiting... or should've been waiting. As they approached they all heard the nasely voice of Weevil Underwood in the far distance, and could eventually see the boat that was now headed away from the island.

Mokuba stared guiltily at the lump of metal dissapearing behind the blue waves in the otherwise beautiful ocean that surrounded them and the island. "The boat, it's already left"

"And dere's the sleazy lowlife who sent dem away!" Joey pointed accusingly at the bodyguard, looking quite happy with himself while looking at the far away boat.

"You're too late. Those losers are already on their way home." Kemo stated the obvious, smirking at the dissapointment etched on to their features.

Tèa tried to reason with the stoic man. "Hey thats at not fair, it hasn't been 30 minutes yeti"

Kemo looked like he couldn't give a second crap about what she said, instead turning back to the ocean view. "Tough luck. Pegasus sets the schedule here."

"That's it! I'm gonna give you a flat top!" Joey stepped forward raising his fists, but the youngest Kaiba stepped in before anyone went for a swim.

"You've gotta call call the boat back, I've gotta return that boys star chips to him!" Mokuba held out his palm and showed the proof. The bodyguard raised a brow and smacked them out of his hand. The five star chips went flying through the air and landed in the water, each one making a PLOP! sound. They each shared their shock out loud by producing gasps.

Joey growled threateningly. "What gives? A bunch of those star chips belong to Yugi!"

"I am am so sorry, Yugi..." Mokuba turned to Yugi with sincerity in his glistening violet eyes.

"Ha you losers should keep a tighter grip on your valuables don't ya think? Then accidents like that wouldn't happen." Kemo let out a humourless laugh and picked Mokuba up in a forceful grasp. "Now lets go you, back to the cage"

Kemo turned to leave while the young boy fought against his hold. "This little ingrate is a special guest of Maximillion Pegasus and he's been invited to a special dinner in his honour back at the castle, right, Mokuba?

"Yugi!" Mokuba ignored the question and called desperately for the King of Games. He couldn't go back there! He had to save his brother!

The small duelist held out his hand and shouted. "Wait!"

"Hn?" The bodyguard turned to the shorter.

"I still have three of my star chips left. I challenge you to a duel, and if I win Mokuba comes with us!" Yugi wagered, hoping the older man would take the offer

Kemo took the wager suspiciously fast. "I don't know why you'd risk your chips for this punk, but if that's how you wanna waste your last star chips, then meet me at the arena number 146 in exactly 4 hours and you'll have your duel."

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **March 25, 2007**

 **Kaiba Vacation House, 16:02**

Kaiba felt so guilty. Arriving here yesterday was a mistake. Coming here at all was a mistake. He'd been so stupid leaving his company alone like that, with only Mokuba to watch after it. Not that he didn't trust Mokuba, quite opposite actually. He trusted Mokuba with his full heart but the kid was so small and defenceless and easy to kidnap, hurt... kill...

He should've been more aware when he left. He was so confused when he left and really wasn't thinking in his right mind.

"Ugh, it's no use!" Kaiba growled in frustration. He fiddled with the machine in his hand and thought over the challenge he was facing.

He was producing a new product for two reasons, one being drastically more important than the other. He had left the company by itself, and he had recently been notified that KaibaCorp now belonged to Pegasus. Knowing Mokuba would've been in the way of taking KaibaCorp, Mokuba was most likely kidnapped. He had to confront Pegasus, but with his own technology. This way, it would throw Pegasus off guard and he'd beat the creator.

The other reason was to battle Yugi. Same idea, if he could throw the King of Games off then he could gain an advantage and claim back his rightful title. Speaking of the brat...

 _'I've gone over it a dozen times in my mind but I still can't figure it out.'_ Kaiba narrowed his eyes further then they already were. _'How was a kid who came out of nowhere, able to defeat a champion like me? I've run computer simulations, probability scenarios, and quantum analysis of our duel but I still don't have the answer!'_

 _'I had had clearly been dominating the match, my blue eyes white dragon ripping through his forces I was on the verge of winning. But Yugi wouldn't give up. Against all odds and with absolute faith in his grandfather's deck he somehow drew the one card he need to ensure his victory.'_

 _'I always believed that duel monsters was a game of sheer power but Yugi claims the cards have a heart. It sounds crazy I know...'_ Seto had to pause there, becuase you know what else sounds crazy? Someone talking to themselves in their head. _'but could Yugi be right? Is there actually a heart of the cards that can affect the outcome of a duel? Is that how he won? The only way I'll be able to tell is to face up against Yugi again, and these new portable holo generators will enable me to challenge him wherever he is.'_

"Now if I can just get to-"

His plotting was interrupted by a pounding on his locked door. Kaiba groaned, knowing it was Pegasus's goons.

"Seto Kaiba, we know your in there open the door or we'll break it down." One of their voices echoed from the other side.

The brunet didn't answer, just quickly packed his two new inventions. He very reluctantly left his deck on the table. He turned to face the two intruders who broke down his door, and we're now pointing... fingers at him? Oh, he was trembling in fear!

"Let's go Kaiba!" The one on the left said while smirking.

"On your feet!" The other demanded.

"Mr Pegasus would like to have a few words wit'cha." One of the bodyguards informed him in an accent more annoying than Joey's .. not that Seto would ever admit that aloud.

"Hn, I bet he would. But it will take more than you two goons to take me." Kaiba declared while glaring at them over his shoulder.

"This is can go easy, or we can snap ya in two!"

"You'll never take me alive!" Too fast for either of the guards to react, Kaiba kicked the office chair he was previously sitting in right into their stomachs.

While the two tried to get up, Seto hopped up on his desk, tucked his head, braced his arm against his chest, and crashed though the window. While little shards of glass embedded themselves in his skin, Seto fell towards the ocean and rocks below, and a thought pierced his mind.

 _'I hope Mokuba receives my deck.'_

* * *

 **o-O-o**

 **March 25, 2007**

 **Duelist Kingdom, 17:38**

Surprisingly, Kemo had been truthful in saying he was invited to a dinner with Pegasus. He was forced to sit on the right side of Pegasus during dinner, and the creator had the nerve to try and make conversation with him. Mokuba ignored him all throughout dinner and was glad when the duel with Yugi was going to happen. Kemo dragged him out

"Well we're here, where's antenna head?" Mokuba heard in the distance Joey's voice and he sighed in relief.

The ebony haired boy called over to them. "Yugi over here!"

"Get him off me!" Mokuba said, referring to the hold the bodyguard had him in.

"Mokuba!" Yugi smiled, knowing the boy hadn't been harmed, then turned his attention to Kemo. "Put him down, now!"

"I'll consider it it, if you win this duel."

"Oh, I'll beat you alright!" Yugi said with an authoritive and completely serious voice.

"I never said I would duel. There's your opponent, he's an old friend who's dying to see you again he met with an unfortunate end earlier today, but he's come back just to duel you!" Kemo pointed up at the blue platform where a familiar face met their eyes.

"What're you saying?" Mokuba whispered, his voice hoarse and broken.

"Kaiba?!" Yugi's eyes showed pure confusion.

"Yes, Yugi! It's me Kaiba and this time you don't stand... a ghost of a chance."

Their horrified gasps were drowned out by Seto's chilling, maniac laughter,

* * *

 _"At the end of the game, the king and the pawn go back in the same box"_

 _-Omar_


End file.
